The relatives were shocked when they saw the cousin’s estate in Eidskog. The stench that met them was unbearable. – I went so far in that I saw her bed, it’s the worst thing I’ve ever seen. And that someone has been able to live in that, says Eva Brenne. She and her husband are very critical of the fact that no one has intervened earlier and helped the cousin who lived all alone. Received a report of concern – So there was a stench that was so bad. In the kitchen there was muck, and rubbish and crap right up to the top of the cupboard doors, says Eva Brenne. In the spring of 2021, the Norwegian Food Safety Authority received a report of concern because of all the cats living on the property. news has gained access to the Norwegian Food Safety Authority’s report. According to the report, the health service in Eidskog must also have received a report of concern. In April, both the health service, the municipal doctor and the Norwegian Food Safety Authority visited. Afterwards, one of the Norwegian Food Safety Authority’s inspectors became ill from the poor air quality inside the home. While carrying out the inspection, they had to wear a full-face mask with a gas filter. One inspector waited five minutes before she put on the mask. This caused her to have burning eyes, headaches and heavy breathing which lasted for a couple of days, the report shows: The Norwegian Food Safety Authority writes, among other things: Inside the house there were large amounts of rubbish and unhygienic conditions. The walls, ceiling, kitchen counter and doors had a layer of dirt, muck and cobwebs. Mold was also observed in several places on the ceiling. It was not possible to see the floor as there was such a large amount of rubbish there. Here was everything from plastic bottles, old newspapers, cans, liver paste lids, food waste, tablet boxes, black garbage bags, faeces, etc. The only place that was free of garbage was your own bed. The Norwegian Food Safety Authority’s inspector had to wear a full-face mask with a gas filter while the inspection was carried out. One inspector waited five minutes before she put on the mask. This resulted in her having burning eyes, headaches and heavy breathing. This lasted for a couple of days after the inspection. Outside, there is also a lot of rubbish, and a lot of faeces on the ground around the house. There is no running water in the house, so this must be obtained from another place. Faeces indoors on floors and furniture is unhygienic and increases the infection pressure, in the form of bacteria, viruses and parasites found in faeces. The woman died a year ago due to illness. news is not aware that a connection has been established between the death and the living conditions. The Norwegian Food Safety Authority gave the deceased the opportunity to sort things out, and also offered to help with liquidating the animal farm. The woman wanted to do this herself, and was given a deadline of 30 April 2021. It ended with the Norwegian Food Safety Authority having to euthanize all of her 24 cats. Even after the inspection, the woman was left to live in her own rubbish and unhealthy stench. The Norwegian Food Safety Authority has not wished to comment on the matter before news. PHOTO: PRIVATE PHOTO: PRIVATE PHOTO: PRIVATE PHOTO: PRIVATE PHOTO: PRIVATE PHOTO: PRIVATE PHOTO: PRIVATE PHOTO: PRIVATE PHOTO: PRIVATE PHOTO: PRIVATE Couldn’t come to visit Some relatives had phone contact with her every Sunday. But they were never allowed to enter the house. – She always had plans, or canceled everything at the last minute. On the phone, she always said that everything was fine, but it certainly wasn’t, says Kåre Brenne. There is no running water, but electricity. It is two kilometers to the nearest neighbour. Brenne says he is dismayed that no one took action. Thought the woman was competent to consent In the report to the Food Safety Authority, it is stated that the municipal doctor in Eidskog, Jan-Øyvind Lorgen, was present at the inspection, but that he did not enter the house. news has been in contact with Lorgen several times. He refers to the duty of confidentiality, but replies in an email on a general basis: “On a general basis, I can say that Norway has strict legislation when it comes to overriding individuals’ desire to live as they want. In cases of doubt, you ask the State Administrator for help, so that you get an independent assessment of the case. For my part, I regularly ask the State Administrator for guidance.” MOISTURE AND MOULD: An inspection report states that “Lack of maintenance both inside and out is of a degree of severity that makes the house totally uninhabitable and hazardous to health to stay in”. Photo: Privat The county doctor in Innlandet, Harald Vallgårda, says that the regulations are such that if you are competent to consent, you can be allowed to live as you wish. – If she herself chooses to live there, and the doctor who visited her in this case believes that she is competent to consent, then it is legal to live almost as you want, says Vallgårda. – When should the state intervene? – There are strict laws on this. If a person is not competent to consent, i.e. a danger to himself and others, society intervenes. STRICT LEGISLATION: – If you reflect on how you live and live, the state should not intervene as the legislation is now in Norway, says Vallgårda. Photo: Lars Erik Skrefsrud / news The county doctor says that the municipal doctor in Eidskog must have carried out an assessment, and concluded that the woman knew what she was exposing herself to. news has asked the municipal doctor several questions, including whether he still believes that the woman was competent to consent. He has not responded to this. Will look at the regulations Bård Hoksrud (Frp), who is a member of the health and care committee at the Storting, thinks it is terrible to see that a person can live in such conditions, without anyone being able to intervene. – We have to look at the legislation – at how we can ensure that people who find themselves in such a situation can be helped, he says. CRITICAL: – They have actually done something for the animals, because they have lived in undignified conditions. Humans have been allowed to continue living like this. I think that is completely unacceptable. Photo: JOHN-ANDRE SAMUELSEN / news Minister of Health and Care Ingvild Kjerkol (Ap) says she understands the family’s despair. – It cannot have been easy for the immediate family to see, says Kjerkol. The Minister of Health says that they are now looking at consent competence in the law, and that an expert committee has been set up to look at how it is practised. The committee started its work in May 2022, and has been given a deadline of May 2023. Only then will the government decide whether there is a need to adjust the regulations. SELECTED COMMITTEE: – We will follow up and assess whether we should make changes to ensure that patients receive the health care they need, which professionals and relatives are concerned about. Photo: Marius André Jenssen Stenberg / news The government has received feedback that the legislation may have negative consequences for patients, relatives and society in general. More about competence to consent: As a general rule, people over the age of 16 have the right to decide whether they want to accept offers of health care. Competence to consent may still be lost if the person is obviously unable to understand what the consent includes due to physical or mental disturbances, senile dementia or mental retardation. The person providing the health care decides whether the patient lacks the competence to consent. In 2017, lack of competence to consent was introduced as conditions for compulsory observation, compulsory mental health care and examination and treatment without consent. Health care can, as a general rule, only be given to people who have the right to decide whether they want to accept offers of health care (have the competence to consent) and who want to receive the help The regulations allow for a limited use of coercion against people who have a mental developmental disability or are drug addicts. The conditions for compulsory use are strict, but it is not required that the person lacks consent competence. The regulations also allow for a limited use of coercion against persons who have a serious mental disorder or who oppose treatment for a somatic disorder. According to these rules, it is also a condition that the person lacks consent competence. However, this condition does not apply to the seriously mentally ill when there is a danger to the person’s own life. Source: Ministry of Health and Care
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Relatives despair: the 78-year-old lived in faeces and rubbish
