Gulsrud was paralyzed after a fall in 1997, and has since been dependent on extensive help to get by. Although he can move his arms, his fine motor skills are gone and his lung capacity is weak. He can easily pass out if the sitting position is not good enough. But despite his severe disability, he has been able to live an almost independent life in an adapted home in the center of Asker. He has thrived there and has been able to receive friends and family when it has suited him. – I have lived there for 22 years and really enjoyed it. I am even on the board of the housing association, says Gulsrud. In the apartment, he has received user-directed personal assistance (BPA) and health services for a number of years, delivered by a private health provider on behalf of the municipality. Thus, the apartment has also been a workplace for many people. Offensive and derogatory language But now the workplace has closed down and Gulsrud lives in a nursing home in the municipality. The reason is that the physical and psychological working environment was considered so bad that it was not safe to work there. Documents news has access to show that Gulsrud was regarded as a patient who, to a large extent, manages employees in detail. He was also described as someone who speaks to certain employees in a “derogatory and offensive manner in situations where things do not turn out exactly as he expects”. The welfare representative in the company that provided services in the home simply closed the workplace in November last year. The decision was also supported by the chief protection officer in Asker municipality. STANDING EMPTY: This apartment has been empty since November last year. It was then closed as a workplace. Photo: Hallgeir Aunan / news Admitting mistakes The consequence was that Jostein had to move to Søndre Borgen nursing home. – I was kicked out with two days’ notice. It was a shocking experience, and it felt as if a rug had been pulled out from under me, says Gulsrud. He believes that the challenges linked to the physical working conditions have already been addressed, but at the same time admits that he has said things that he shouldn’t in certain situations. – Yes absolutely. No one is flawless, but that’s no match for shutting down my apartment and workplace on two days notice. Now I live in a nursing home and it feels like a punishment, says Gulsrud. WANTS TO MOVE HOME: Jostein Gulsrud does not want to live at the nursing home in Asker anymore. He wants to go home to the apartment where he has lived for 22 years. Photo: Hallgeir Aunan / news – No optimal solution Anne Cathrine Garder, who is business manager in Welfare Administration in Asker municipality, strongly rejects that they are punishing Gulsrud in any way. – He received an offer for a limited stay in a nursing home when the apartment was closed as a workplace by an external actor from BPA, which he accepted, she says. Garder agrees that it is not an optimal solution for a 47-year-old man to live in a nursing home. – He was offered a stay at the nursing home because his flat, which is also a workplace, was closed by the welfare representative in the service he received help from. It was never our intention for him to stay in the nursing home for a long time, she says. Business manager in Asker municipality, Anne Cathrine Garder, says it is not an optimal solution for a young man to live in a nursing home. Photo: Tom Balgaard / news Municipal housing offered The municipality has previously assessed that Gulsrud needs round-the-clock assistance for help with daily chores and care, and in a decision from 31 March this year, the municipality granted a place at a staffed housing. – The municipality is trying to pressure Gulsrud to accept an offer to live in a staffed home, which he absolutely does not want. He has been offered a minimum of services that are far from what he needs, says his lawyer Gorm Grammeltvedt. He also refers to a decision from the State Administrator on 16 June this year, which states that the municipality’s decision on housing with staffing, practical health care and health care is revoked and sent back to the municipality for new processing. – Here the State Administrator says quite clearly that he has the right to live at home, and that he can choose it himself. If he chooses to do so, the municipality has a duty to provide the services he needs, says Grammeltvedt. Has Gulsrud gone too far in the way he speaks to employees? – He has to adjust and behave properly, but that can be resolved through dialogue. It is not the case that the answer from the municipality is to end the service, then you have to enter into a dialogue to improve conditions, says the lawyer. Garder replies that Asker municipality had no choice when the workplace was closed by the conservation officer. – We cannot provide services at a workplace that is closed by the protection service. It is regulated by the Working Environment Act, says the business manager. Lawyer Gorm Grammeltvedt believes the municipality must make arrangements for Gulsrud to be able to live in his own home. Photo: Lars Thomas Nordby / news – A human rights violation Grammeltvedt goes on to say that as long as Gulsrud lives in a nursing home, there is an ongoing human rights violation. – Everyone has a human right to be able to live in their own home and have a private life. This right is violated by Asker municipality. Business manager Anne Cathrine Garder in Asker municipality disagrees that Gulsrud’s human rights have been violated, and points out that the State Administrator has not emphasized this in his answer either. She also rejects that the municipality is trying to pressure Gulsrud to accept municipal housing. – We do not engage in coercion. It is not a right we have or a policy. We are here to offer services, and within this field it is about necessary health care. What happens to the case going forward? – We will now process the decision on municipal housing again after the State Administrator asked us to. We have been given four weeks to do it, and will do it as quickly as possible, says Garder. She also points out that in the aforementioned decision from the State Administrator, they agree with the municipality that they uphold the municipality’s decision to end BPA. The state administrator writes that the municipality has sufficiently documented that there have been challenges related to the working environment and the organization of Gulsrud’s BPA scheme. Last week there was a meeting between the parties. – There were no promises, but it is positive that the municipalities are now allowing Jostein to participate. That means he can express his needs, says lawyer Grammeltvedt. Impatient In the meantime, Gulsrud is waiting for a solution. – My biggest wish is to move back home to my own apartment where I have lived for 22 years, and build up a team that works again, he says. news has been in contact with the company that offered the health services in the home when the home was closed as a workplace – they do not want to comment on the matter.
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Lost necessary health care – had to move to a nursing home – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
