In January, 79-year-old Olaug Sølver fell on the ice and broke his femoral neck. She was operated on at the hospital in Elverum and thought she would be sent straight to training. She wasn’t. – They said I was strong enough to go home. But I’m not. Not to be sent home like that, says Olaug. The 79-year-old sat in his chair at home in the apartment in Hamar and waited for the visits from the home care. When they arrived she was allowed to go to the bathroom and fix herself some food. She didn’t dare try to walk when she was alone, even though she had been given a walker. She was so afraid of falling and staying down. – I feel very insecure, says Olaug. The security alarm was only put in place five days after she got home, she says. The patient ombudsman fears for the safety of the elderly Jannicke Bruvik is the national patient ombudsman and is clear that the offer Olaug Sølver has received is not good enough. – No. She has a right to feel safe and to get the help she needs. This means that everything she needs when she gets home must be in place the same day, not four or five days later, says the patient representative. – The municipality provides a physiotherapist, but only four days after she has returned home from the hospital. She did not receive a security alarm until five days after she returned home. What do you think about this? – Then I think it’s luck, for both Olaug and the municipality, that it didn’t go wrong during the four or five days, says patient representative Jannicke Bruvik. CONCERNED: National patient representative, Jannicke Bruvik, is particularly concerned about elderly patients who do not have relatives to help them. Photo: Synne Lykkebø Hafsaas / news Municipality: – Thorough assessment Before the femoral neck fracture, Sølver managed on his own. Now she has had home care four times a day, and sometimes at night. She wants to manage on her own as soon as possible and therefore wishes she could get help with training much sooner. Head of health and care in Hamar municipality, Vigdis Galaaen, believes they have given Olaug a proper run. – It was a relatively fit patient, she says. RESPONSIBLE: Head of health and care in Hamar municipality, Vigdis Galaaen, says they have made a thorough assessment of Olaug Sølver’s situation. Photo: Anders Bakkerud Larsen / news The assessment was that the best thing for the 79-year-old was to come home and practice the everyday situations there. And in any case there is no automaticity in patients getting a place in rehabilitation because they are alone, says Galaaen. – The assessment is always based on the state of health. The criteria for getting a round-the-clock rehabilitation place in Hamar municipality is that the patient has major rehabilitation needs and is seriously ill, says the head of health and care. Concerned about legal certainty Olaug Sølver is happy about the help she has received, and has no say in home care. But she finds it tough when she is completely alone. She has felt very unsafe. TRAINING: Olaug Sølver didn’t dare try to walk alone after the operation and wished she could get help with training sooner. Photo: Lars Erik Skrefsrud / news The Patient Ombudsman is concerned about precisely this group; elderly patients who do not have relatives to help them. – We are worried about their legal certainty. They are more vulnerable. They see that this group does not always get what they should have from offers. When things sometimes go wrong, Jannicke Bruvik believes that it is often due to poor case management in the municipalities. – If the municipality itself does not know the regulations and can handle the proceedings as they should, how will the elderly be able to deal with the same? Don’t you dare complain On a national basis, the patient ombudsman receives around 17,000 inquiries a year. More than 1,200 cases concern nursing homes and care services in the home. But not everyone who is insecure or dissatisfied dares to take up the fight with the municipality. – We have quite a few cases, unfortunately, where people contact us and want to remain anonymous. Because they are so afraid to complain. They are so afraid that the complaint will have consequences that they don’t even dare to tell us which municipality and which nursing home it applies to, says patient representative Jannicke Bruvik. In the case of Olaug Sølver in Hamar, the municipal manager believes that the proceedings have been as they should be. Rejects the criticism Vigdis Galaaen does not know what basis the patient representative has for saying that Hamar municipality has not given Olaug Sølver a good enough offer. – We have made good, professional assessments and feel that we have started a service that the patient is satisfied with and that shows great progress, says Galaaen. Now Olaug Sølver also has good faith that she will soon get back on her feet. – I’m going to get up and go. Although this takes time, says the 79-year-old.
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Olaug Sølver sent home after femoral neck fracture – has no relatives and is unsafe – news Innlandet – Local news, TV and radio
