– It was like watching him wither away, says Lydia. For 40 days, her 21-year-old little brother was strapped to a bed at Østfold Hospital. The straps around his torso, arms and feet were occasionally loosened. But the belts were never completely removed and he was never allowed to leave the bed. – It was completely wrong and heartbreaking to see him there, says Lydia. Out of consideration for the little brother, who has autism and is mentally disabled, the family does not want news to use their surname. The 21-year-old man was moved to the hospital when the Norwegian Occupational Safety and Health Administration closed down his municipal residence in Halden. In the hospital, he was left naked and belted around the clock. It was Halden Arbeiderblad who first mentioned the case. Sister Lydia and mother Eva find it difficult to put into words how the 21-year-old has been treated. Photo: Amalie Fagerhaug Evjen / news The home is closed The man has had assistance measures from Halden municipality since he was four years old. The 21-year-old can eat and go to the toilet by himself, but has a great need for help. He needs round-the-clock supervision. In May, the Norwegian Labor Inspection Authority received a notice of an occupational accident in the man’s home. Shortly afterwards, they demanded immediate measures because there was a danger to the employees’ lives and health. The municipality was unable to implement measures and the home was closed down. The same day, the 21-year-old was moved to the security section at Sykehuset Østfold. Halden municipality says there was no other alternative. – There was an imminent and serious danger to the user’s life and health when the user’s home was closed by the Norwegian Occupational Safety and Health Administration. That is the reason for the admission at Sykehuset Østfold, says municipal superintendent Kjersti Gjøsund. That is why the Norwegian Labor Inspection Authority closed the home: In a report, it is stated that the Norwegian Labor Inspection Authority found out the following after inspecting the 21-year-old’s home: The home was not adapted and designed to ensure the safety of the workers. The department strives to recruit the right expertise. A large proportion of workers are unskilled. Some workers have work in the home as their first job. It was stated that employees up to the age of 18 have worked in the home. The Norwegian Labor Inspection Authority perceives that not all employees have undergone training and practice before being put to work in the home. The department strives to put together good teams. The Norwegian Labor Inspection Authority perceives that there are no routines for how teams should be put together on each shift. Employees at work must themselves find suitable substitutes in the event of sick leave. Had to make up in bed The department at the hospital is reserved for psychotic patients and people sentenced to compulsory mental health care. – He is not mentally ill. He is autistic and mentally disabled with a great need for help, says older sister Lydia. To be placed in the security section, a referral from an external doctor from the home municipality is required. A doctor at the hospital must also assess that the conditions for mental health care have been met. But in this case, the control commission at Sykehuset Østfold has concluded that the conditions for compulsory mental health care were not met. Nevertheless, the 21-year-old lay strapped to bed for almost six weeks, without being able to get up. On 14 June, the 21-year-old was strapped into the hospital. According to family, he could barely eat his own food. In addition, he had to make out in bed. – He has been treated as if he was not worth anything. I got a feeling of elimination. We just sat there without being able to help. He cried a lot and said he wanted to go home, says Lydia. Researcher: – In violation of the prohibition on torture – This treatment is the most serious thing he can be exposed to, apart from losing his life, says Marius Storvik. He is a researcher on coercive drugs in psychiatry and an associate professor at the University of Tromsø. He says it is difficult to find a strong enough characterization of the case. – The 21-year-old has been subjected to treatment that must legally be characterized as inhuman or degrading, and which is in breach of the prohibition of torture. Researcher Marius Storvik believes that the case of the 21-year-old illustrates that the legislation sets up a practice in Norway that conflicts with the human rights court. Photo: Hans Ludvig Andreassen / news Storvik points out that both the municipality and the hospital have broken the law. – The municipality is breaking the law because they have not prepared a professionally sound offer. The hospital breaks the regulations because they admit a person and forcibly admit him without legal authority to do so, and illegally place him in a belt bed for six weeks. Halden municipality: – A difficult case Halden municipality believes that they have implemented many measures over a long period, but that it has not been enough. The director of health and coping, Veronica Aam, writes in an e-mail to news that they have repeatedly searched for professional personnel without getting enough applicants. – There have been no restrictions on the use of resources in this case, but this has nevertheless been a difficult case. We have challenges in recruiting healthcare workers and social workers. The family says that they received little information both before and after the 21-year-old’s admission. They never knew for sure when he was allowed to come home. Photo: Amalie Fagerhaug Evjen / news However, the family believes that the municipality has not done enough. – We are aware that he acts out and is demanding, but he is also very kind, funny and considerate. I pay tribute to the employees who have done their best, but I think this could have been avoided if Halden municipality had introduced more measures sooner, says mother Eva. The lawyer for the 21-year-old calls it all a disclaimer of responsibility on the part of the municipality. – I think it is unsustainable for the municipality to drive him to the hospital to get rid of him. He is not a mentally ill patient and had nothing to do with it, says lawyer Hans Henrik Pettersen Halden municipality will not comment on the admission of the 21-year-old, but says that the case also affects them. Director for health and coping in Halden municipality Veronica Aam says the municipality must now assess what they could have done differently. Photo: Ingrid Mathilde Langvik / news – I fully understand that this has been an extremely demanding situation for the family. I am sorry that we as a healthcare system have not been able to solve this in a better way, says Aam. – A gross and grotesque example Researcher Marius Storvik has never heard of a similar case. – This is a gross and grotesque example. The time period is so far outside of any of the cases that have been dealt with by the Human Rights Court in the past. Østfold Hospital did not want to be interviewed by news in this case, but has answered questions by e-mail. The 21-year-old is lying naked in a belt in the hospital. Clinic manager Andreas Joner writes that the hospital agrees that they do not have a good offer for such a patient, but that there was no other alternative. The hospital also agrees that the use of restraints that were used is both legally and ethically challenging, but still believes that extensive restraint was necessary in this case. – Other less invasive measures, such as belts released from the bed, were considered to be obviously futile or insufficient. In this bed, the 21-year-old lay belted. He always had a municipal employee from Halden present. His family also visited him regularly. Patients are entitled to one hour of fresh air every day. But the 21-year-old was never released from the bed, Sykehuset Østfold confirms. Back in municipal housing The hospital believes the case is an illustration of society’s lack of a framework for looking after the most demanding patients. They regret that they have found themselves in a situation where the control commission has assessed that the coercive use had the wrong legal basis, but believes that this does not mean that the coercive use can cease. The hospital will now have a review of the case. Halden municipality has asked the State Administrator to assess what the municipality could do differently. The sister Lydia says that she dreaded the first meeting with her brother in the hospital. – When I came in the door, I didn’t know what to do. I saw him smile with his mouth, but his eyes were so sad, she says. Photo: Amalie Fagerhaug Evjen / news – We will do what we can to avoid similar situations in the future, says director Aam. The 21-year-old was moved from the hospital on 24 July. Now he is back in the home in Halden, which has been extended. In the long term, the municipality will build a new and better home. But the family believes that wearing seat belts has caused permanent wounds. – He has become worse than he was. It has been a demanding battle and he cannot speak for himself, so it is our responsibility to be spokespersons. We will make sure that he gets justice. I know he would have done the same for me, says his sister Lydia. Hi! Do you have opinions on the matter, or know of something else I should write about? Feel free to send me an email!
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21-year-old was belted for six weeks after municipal housing was closed – news Oslo og Viken – Local news, TV and radio
