– You, Jan. Are you my girlfriend today? asks Sonja Berg (68). – Is it possible to get a kiss? continues the wife, pointing to her cheek. Jan (73) turns away a little. He gets restless and grabs hold of the wheels of the wheelchair, tries to roll himself backwards. He got Parkinson’s disease 15 years ago. 5 years ago he started to forget. He is unable to press the alarm or to express himself. 29 June 2022, at 12:45: Jan is sitting outside on the veranda at the Kattem health and welfare center in Trondheim. He stands up and falls backwards. He gets pain in his back. In the patient record, the carer writes that Jan must have “one to one to be followed up to avoid falls”. Nine hours later: A carer finds Jan on the floor inside the room. He has fallen again. In the journal, it is pointed out that the nursing home needs additional staffing. – I fear that I will get a phone call that he has fallen and killed himself, says Sonja. The municipal manager of health and welfare centers in Trondheim believes that the staffing is reasonable. The photo was taken by his wife Sonja, and shows the injuries Jan suffered after a fall in July this year. Photo: Private – Are you my girlfriend today? This summer, news told about 67-year-old Alf Ingar Selven, who died after only three weeks at the Klæbu health and welfare centre. Sick leave was high. Previous carers had expressed concern several times. The state administrator in Trøndelag opened supervisory proceedings against the municipality. In the case, Health and Welfare Director Wenche Dehli confirmed challenges with staffing in the health services. When news visits Jan at the Kattem health and welfare centre, he lies on a sofa in the common room. He is barricaded inside using a dining table. This way the one carer on duty this afternoon has control over him, while she helps the other residents. There is light dance band music in the background. Before he got sick, Jan was careful. He was nice in the clothes. Today he wears stained sweatpants and a fleece jacket. Tousled the hair. He is restless. news’s review of Jan’s patient record shows that he has fallen at least 23 times since May. Several of the cases have not been observed by anyone. Several falls led to severe pain. It is announced that the nursing home must have more staff, and that Jan’s fall could have been avoided. Sonja gets help from the carer to get Jan into the wheelchair. We roll into his room. A bouquet of pink roses is on the table. Sonja visits her husband at the Kattem health and welfare center every afternoon. Photo: Morten Waagø / news Sonja has to hold him tight. – I have to hold you, you understand – otherwise you will fall. In mid-April, he fell at the nursing home and broke his hip. Since then he has not been able to stand, but he forgets that. April 25, 2022: Jan falls and expresses great pain, as he recently had hip surgery. His medical record states that the fall could have been avoided if a carer had been with him. Five days later, he is found on the floor, complaining of pain in his hip. After another five days, he is again found on the floor inside his room and taken to hospital. – I think a lot about the pain Jan must have had. Because he is unable to report when he is in pain, says his wife Sonja Berg (68). Was sure he would be safe For Sonja it was a tough decision to make, as she had to decide that her husband of 50 years was going to a nursing home. – We held out as long as possible. I remember so well when he asked me if this was going to last forever – that he was in a nursing home. Then I had to lie and say no. Sonja’s eyes go blank. – It didn’t feel good. But he probably forgot it faster than I did. Jan leans towards Sonja. She’s holding him over her stomach now. Holding him tight. The two have worked together all their lives, and built up a business together. They have traveled a lot. Got a son, a grandson. Sonja remembers Jan as the most generous person who always came running if she needed help with something. – What expectations did you have of the nursing home? – I was absolutely sure that he would be safe, and that they had time to come up with activities with him – and talk to him. On 6 July 2022, the carers hear a bang. They find Jan lying in a pool of blood in his room. Jan gets a cut above his left eye and is taken to hospital. Two days later he falls again. On 12 July 2022 at 16.00 he falls again, and again two and a half hours later. Sonja rolls her husband into the room. Photo: Morten Waagø / news Relieving the carers Sonja explains that she trusts the carers who work at Kattem health and welfare centre, and that they do a good job. – I have a very good relationship with them. But they are far too few. In the afternoons and evenings, there is one carer on duty who will take care of eight residents. – It is completely unjustifiable and unsustainable. The consequence for Jan is that he falls and hits himself. There have now been five ugly falls in three months. After three of them, he ended up in hospital. Jan strokes Sonja on the arm. She chooses to go here every day. – I feed him. I feel very welcome, because then the carer who is alone on duty gets to do something else. She then doesn’t have to look after Jan. She says that several carers have thanked her for the help. – Sometimes they have also asked if I can wait a little before leaving, so that they can do a little more. I feel happy when I go home then. Because then I have been with Jan, plus I have contributed something. Between 27 July and 3 August, he falls three times without the carers seeing what is happening. Jan doesn’t get to eat himself. Sonja gives him supper when she comes in the afternoons. Photo: Morten Waagø / news Responsible staffing news has requested an interview with unit manager Sissel Olufsen at the Kattem health and welfare centre. She did not want to be interviewed in the matter. Municipal manager for the health and welfare centres, Siri Ekle Skaanes, does not want to comment on Jan’s case, but says she can comment on a general basis. Municipal manager Siri Ekle Skaanes says that Trondheim municipality works systematically with follow-up of all cases. Photo: Morten Waagø / Morten Waagø Skaanes says that the municipality has good systems for capturing unfortunate incidents and deviations, and that this is dealt with immediately to prevent and possibly reduce unfortunate things from happening. She goes on to say that not all falls can be avoided, and that falls are not an unknown problem for patients at the health and welfare centres. She acknowledges that the municipality has marginal staffing, but still calls the staffing situation justifiable. – You disagree with what the carers point out in the medical record? Is there adequate staffing at the Kattem health and welfare centre? – Yes. Because we cannot avoid all cases. Unfortunately. Although we work preventively with it. – The carers point out in the record that falls could have been avoided, if you had had extra staffing? – Yes, and if the extra staffing has been right then and there. There are many patients who live in a health and welfare centre. We don’t have staffing so that we can have one-on-one with everyone. – Sonja is afraid and worried that Jan could fall at any time and die as a result of the fall, because the carers are unable to look after him. How do you react to that? – As I say, I do not want to go into that individual case. But we work very systematically with the follow-up of all types of falls. Cooperation with nursing home doctors is also very important. And there we have continuous assessments on exactly that. – 23 falls since May – is it a lot or a little? – Of course we should have avoided several of those cases, but as I said, I do not want to get into the individual case. Sorry for the experience – Is there anything you would like to say to Sonja in this matter? – It is of course very sorry that she is experiencing that, and we will do everything we can to keep her safe in the cooperation we will have with her going forward. The municipal manager goes on to say that she knows that the management at the health and welfare center is constantly working to see what can be done to avoid and reduce any injuries that may occur in the event of a fall. Among other things, she highlights the use of sensor technology as an opportunity. – news visited Jan at the Kattem nursing home. When we arrive, he is lying on the sofa in the common room, barricaded inside with a table. So that the one carer on duty this afternoon would have control over him. How do you react to that? – As I said, I do not want to go into that individual case. – You have no reaction to that particular situation? – No. But I think that I have faith that the employees, in consultation with management and the nursing home doctor, prepare good measures to prevent unfortunate situations and injuries from falling. According to Skaanes, work is now being done to strengthen staffing at the health and welfare centres. Sonja Berg fears that her husband Jan will fall and kill himself in the nursing home. Photo: Morten Waagø / Morten Waagø Deep cuts in the calves Jan leans his head down against Sonja’s chest. She holds him on her knee. In Jan’s journal, several caregivers repeatedly warn that Jan must be looked after, otherwise he will fall. – Among other things, they found him at night, when he had wedged his feet between the mattress and the headboard. He received two deep cuts in both calves. They found him in great pain, and they don’t know how long he has been lying like that, says Sonja. The last big drop was in August. – When I arrived, he was lying in a pool of blood on the floor. The one carer on duty tried to help Jan as best he could. He was eventually sent to the hospital for a head scan. Fortunately, it went well. – What do you think about this happening? – It’s about money. The budget was used up a long time ago. The people who work here are completely despondent, I can see that. It is a stressful moment like no other when they have to look after Jan. And it’s not just him, there are more people who need help. Jan after a fall in August. PHOTO: Privat Challenges the politicians Sonja challenges the political leadership in Trondheim municipality to be on site at the nursing home one evening. – Then I think they would have had something to think about. You don’t see it until you get here. I never thought it was like that either. I hadn’t dreamed of it. Jan and Sonja hold hands. – If we as relatives are to feel safe, the nursing home must have better staffing. Jan falls. He expresses great pain after the fall. He recently had hip surgery. The patient record states that the fall could have been avoided if a carer had been with him. Jan is found on the floor, complaining of pain in his hip. Jan is found on the floor in his room. He is taken to hospital for an X-ray. Jan falls on the floor at the breakfast table. Jan falls on the floor at the breakfast table. Jan falls in his room. No one observes the fall. No one knows how long he has been lying like that. Jan falls during morning care. He expresses pain. Jan falls into the common room. He expresses pain. Jan falls off the bed. Jan is found lying on the floor in the common room. Jan is found lying on the floor next to the bed. No one observes the fall. Jan falls out on the veranda. He expresses pain. That same evening, he falls into his room for the second time. Jan falls into the common room. The staff hears a bang. They find Jan lying in a pool of blood in his room. He gets a cut on his left eyebrow and is sent to hospital. Jan falls into the common room at 4pm. 2.5 hours later, he falls again. Jan falls. No one observes the fall. Jan falls. No one observes the fall. Jan falls. No one observes the fall. Jan falls. He gets a cut on his eyebrow. Show more Hey, you! Do you have thoughts about the case you’ve read, or tips for something we should look into more closely? Please contact!
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Jan was found in a pool of blood at a nursing home in Trondheim – news Trøndelag
