Today, more than 100,000 people in Norway are affected by dementia. It is expected that the incidence of the disease will double in the coming decades. In recent years, there have been several examples of patients with dementia escaping from nursing homes. Found frozen solid On a cold winter evening earlier this year, a patient at Sentrum nursing home was going out to get rid of the smoke. The door to the porch was closed but not locked as it should have been. The patient was not supervised and thus managed to get out. FELL OVER: Around half past two the patient was found lying on the porch. The front porch door was closed but not locked. Photo: Marie Staberg / news Later that night, the person was found lying on the porch, with his trousers frozen in the ground and blood on his face. The patient died a few days later at Nordland Hospital. news has been in contact with relatives. They do not want to be interviewed. The door did not have an electronic lock. A need that has been reported after the incident. What happened at the nursing home in Bodø is unfortunately not unique. news has previously covered the story of Ranveig Annie Myrås (74). In 2020, she climbed out of an unsecured window and disappeared. 13 days later she was found dead in the mountains. Reported to the State Administrator The evening the patient froze, there were five health professionals and one nurse at work. They were responsible for 60 patients. – I do not know what assessments form the basis for the staffing and composition of expertise at this nursing home. A nurse of 60 patients, on the other hand, sounds low. This is dementia Dementia is a common denominator for a group of brain diseases that usually affect the elderly. About 70 percent of all dementia cases are due to Alzheimer’s. Common symptoms of dementia are: Loss of memory Failing ability to act Failing language function Changes in personality Change in behavior In the vast majority of cases, dementia develops gradually. There is no cure for dementia today, but medications that can slow development. Therefore, it is important to detect dementia early. Source: The National Association for Public Health, Faktisk.no, the Norwegian Directorate of Health and Susana Castro-Chavira, researcher at UiT Norway’s Arctic University. This is what the other deputy head of the Norwegian Nurses’ Association, Kai Øivind Brenden, says. He believes it is demanding to be one nurse alone at work. – But you should probably consider whether you need more nurses who can contribute to a type of conversation and sparring during a night shift. NECESSARY: There are several tasks that health professionals and nurses can solve in parallel. Kai Øivind Brenden says that it is absolutely necessary with health professionals, even at night. Photo: Marie Staberg / news The state administrator has been notified after the incident. Bodø municipality does not want to comment on the case until they have concluded. But the head of the institution in Bodø municipality, Kirsten Willumsen, writes in an e-mail: – For all unwanted incidents, we have a review of our routines and procedures, to look at what we can do to prevent it from happening again. ASSESSMENT: The state administrator has asked Sentrum nursing home to review the incident, and find out what actually happened. Photo: Emil Harjo Indsetviken / The State Administrator in Nordland – The case is still being processed by the State Administrator, and the status is that we have received a report from the company. The next step is to review the report to see if the company has followed up the incident as we expect. This is what Julie Tangen, acting department director at the health and guardianship department at the State Administrator in Nordland, says. She can not say when the case has been processed by them. Lack of professional environment Kai Øivind Brenden says that dementia care can be demanding. This is something that requires particularly good competence. – Among patients with dementia, it may be that someone is restless and needs someone with them for shorter or longer periods. This also applies at night. Then it will be difficult to follow the rest of the department, says Brenden. Brenden believes it is high time that the municipalities make it more attractive to work in municipal health and care services. RECRUITMENT: Kai Øivind Brenden believes that there is a rapid development in the treatment of patients in the municipalities. He says the municipalities must invest more in recruiting and retaining the nurses. Photo: SUNNIVA TONSBERG GASKI / SUNNIVA TONSBERG GASKI – We know from our student surveys that there are too few newly qualified nurses, who generally want to work in the municipal service. Most people want to go to the hospital. – It is first and foremost about the fact that in municipalities you more often experience a lack of professional environment around you, you are often left alone as a nurse, often with responsibility for very many patients. More than half of the nurses believe that the unit they work at does not have sufficient manpower or skills. It shows a recent survey among Norwegian nurses. In addition, a large proportion of nurses say that they experience that they perform work that is actually a doctor’s responsibility. – The municipalities must take their responsibility and ensure that there are sufficient professional environments, so that it becomes safe and exciting for the nurses to work there. Hi! Do you have thoughts about the case you have read, or suggestions for other things we at news Nordland should check out? Feel free to send me an email!
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Patient with dementia was found frozen at a nursing home in Bodø – news Nordland
