– That means infections, hospitalization and as the doctors say; reduced life expectancy, says Sonja Midtsand. The husband, Gaute Midtsand, has brought her up to the edge of the bed and is in the process of attaching a harness around his wife. Then he rolls the stairlift in front of her and attaches the harness to it. Slowly but surely, the wife gets out of bed and onto her feet. Then a chair is pushed in behind her and she is lowered into it. Sonja has the neurological disease MS and is overweight. She says that getting out of bed is vital. – Otherwise I would have bathed in urine and faeces. I would also have such a large build-up of mucus in my lungs that there would be infections, she says. The couple is distraught over the situation. Photo: Jøte Toftaker / news It was Adresseavisen that mentioned Sonja Midtsand’s situation first. The municipality said stop This is what Malvik municipality has not wanted to help her with in the last four months. In June, the municipality suddenly called a halt. Those who worked in home care no longer wanted to help her out of bed with the standing lift. – Over time, there have been several sick calls and deviations reported by the employees when it comes to the use of the standing lift. When we also received notice from the social security service that they were considering closing the home as a workplace because of this, we in reality had no choice but to find another solution for relocation. This is what municipal director Stig Roald Amundsen writes in an e-mail to news. No one in Malvik municipality wants to be interviewed in the case. – It was simply not possible to continue using the standing lift and at the same time take care of the employees’ working environment, writes Amundsen. The home service still comes by. But now they only offer to wash her underarms and face. Thus, in recent months it has been up to husband Gaute to help his wife get out of bed. He has done that six times a day for the past four months. A job he believes can be done just fine alone with the right technique and a little collaboration. – It is important that she gets to go to the bathroom. That she gets to get out of bed, simply. Those are the very basic needs she has, says the husband. Even though the husband is available around the clock, Sonja sees that it is demanding for the man. – He has no opportunity to go to the shop, help the children, look after the grandchildren. He is prevented from everything. So for him this home becomes a prison, says Sonja. The husband has used this passenger lift to lift his wife out of bed so that, among other things, she can go to the bathroom and move around a bit. Photo: Jøte Toftaker / news Going to court The couple believe Sonja is not getting the health care she is entitled to. It is flatly rejected by both the municipality and the State Administrator in Trøndelag. – We think it is important to take employees’ health seriously and that the employer makes arrangements for employees who need it. We respect the fact that some employees need accommodation. But it must not affect Sonja’s health, says Gaute Midtsand. The couple have therefore contacted a lawyer to prepare a lawsuit. – Sonja wants the court to test whether the decision concerning her healthcare is valid. This means that she stays in her own faeces and urine all day, without mobilization, says lawyer Vilde Dahl. Lawyer Vilde Dahl at the law firm SjødinMeling. Photo: Christian Ziegler Remme / news She thinks it is completely incomprehensible that both the municipality and the State Administrator have concluded that Sonja is receiving proper health care today. – It is part of the soundness requirement that one has the right to dignity. Lying like this, without help, with only washing under the arms and face, is hardly safe, says Dahl. Trying a new lift Malvik municipality says that since this summer they have been trying to find a solution to the problem. Among other things, they have proposed installing a roof lift in the apartment that can lift Sonja out of bed. It was tried out when Sonja was admitted to the municipality’s health center with poor results. It took several hours to get her out of bed. In addition, she was inflicted with great pain, according to the couple. They have nevertheless given permission for such a roof lift to be tried out again in the hope of getting help. – We are very concerned about whether it is justifiable, quite simply. The doctors have also been involved in it. But we see no other way out than that we have to be part of it, says Gaute Midtsand. Malvik municipality informs news that the new equipment will be in place and can be tested next week. – Testing of equipment will continue until we succeed in finding equipment and methodology for movement in a safe and secure way, both for users and employees, writes Amundsen. Published 12.10.2024, at 22.49
ttn-69
Sonja Midtsand needs help to get out of bed – sues Malvik to get help – news Trøndelag – Local news, TV and radio
