It was on the evening of 1 August last year that the police received a report of a stabbing in a housing complex in Sel municipality. A couple in their 80s were killed in their own home. The person accused of the double murder has a long history with the health services for the mentally ill. The state administrator in Innlandet has assessed whether the man received proper follow-up from Sykehuset Innlandet HF and Sel municipality, and whether the interaction between them has been proper. Now the State Administrator has concluded that there has been no breach of health legislation – the health care was provided “in line with good practice”. This is the case On the evening of Monday 1 August, an elderly couple in their 80s were killed in a housing complex outside the center of Otta in Gudbrandsdalen. The man lived in the same residential area as the victims, and called the police himself, who had also received a tip from a witness. The police arrived at the scene and arrested the man. They also examined a number of other apartments for possible more injured people. The man was taken care of by the healthcare system after the incident. The man, who is in his 40s, was formally charged in the case on Tuesday 2 August. He is charged with the murder of two people. He was remanded in custody for four weeks with a ban on letters and visits and full isolation for two weeks. It took some time before the man was questioned by the police. The first questioning was done on Wednesday evening. On Thursday morning, it was still not clear how the accused would respond to the question of guilt. The police state that they are aware that the accused must have a history from the healthcare system. Had close contact with the health service The specialist health service has been responsible for the largest part of the health care. They have had close contact with the accused. The state administrator has gone through the man’s records with particular emphasis on the treatment and follow-up he received in the time before the murders. The report states: “The state administrator notes that the patient has had comprehensive follow-up with very good continuity and interaction.” The man must have had regular admissions to the inpatient ward, in addition to the weekly follow-up he received when he was at home. It appears from the report from the State Administrator that he was admitted to a district psychiatric center in the month before the murder. According to the report, the risk of violence was assessed at this admission and “The State Administrator does not find that the health personnel should have understood that the patient could commit serious acts of violence”. What is included in the term “responsibility”? Health and care services that are offered and provided must be sound. This means that the quality of the services must be at a certain level. The liability requirement applies at all levels in health and care services in both the private and public sector for the individual health personnel and the business. The requirement for soundness that is directed at businesses includes a duty to arrange the services so that personnel who perform the services are able to comply with their statutory duties, and so that the individual patient or user is provided with a comprehensive and coordinated service offer. The concept of reasonableness is a legal standard. By legal standard is meant that the content of the legal rule can vary over time, and does not link the decision to specific and unequivocal criteria, but gives instructions on a specific yardstick to be used in the assessment. For the individual healthcare personnel, the soundness requirement basically entails a duty to act in accordance with the professional norms and statutory requirements for professional practice that apply at all times. This includes the expectation that national guides and guidelines are followed. The term’s content therefore varies with professional development, value perceptions and the like. It is not an absolute requirement that one should do everything possible for the individual patient, for example by using all available resources. What is required for a healthcare professional to be considered to be acting in a professional manner must be judged on the basis of what can be expected based on the healthcare personnel’s qualifications, the nature of the work and the general situation. Source: The state administrator in Innlandet Will evaluate the offer Sel municipality and the Innlandet HF Hospital, mental health care division, have had a review of their own services as a result of the seriousness of the case. This appears from the State Administrator’s report. – Equally, this is a sad matter for everyone involved. The inspection report shows that it is not possible to fully prevent and prevent tragic incidents, writes Divisional Director of the Division of Mental Health, Benedicte Thorsen-Dahl, in an e-mail to news. At Sykehuset Innlandet, an independent team has pointed out certain areas which they want to improve on their own initiative. An example is the system in the violence and suicide assessments. – Regardless of the conclusion in supervisory cases, we always follow up on unwanted incidents with a review and assessment of measures as part of our continuous improvement work in quality and patient safety, writes Thorsen-Dahl. GAVE ASSIGNMENT: Divisional director Benedicte Thorsen-Dahl in the Division of Mental Health Services commissioned an independent team to review the sequence of events. Among other things, the team’s task was to propose measures that could help prevent similar incidents from happening again. The report will be presented to the division’s Faculty Council next week. Photo: Lars Erik Skrefsrud / news Municipal director in Sel municipality, Solveig Nymoen, comments to news that they have had a good dialogue with the State Administrator. – We have experienced that there has been thorough work in the process. Now our focus will be to ensure that we follow up on any points of improvement in future interaction. It appears in the State Administrator’s report that a larger evaluation will also be carried out during the year, looking at the overall provision for people with mental disorders in Nord-Gudbrandsdalen. After the double murder in Otta, several advocated that there is not a good enough offer in mental health care in Gudbrandsdalen. CREATED REACTIONS: DPS Lillehammer, ward Otta, previously had an inpatient ward at Bredebygden. The discontinuation of the inpatient ward in 2020 met with strong opposition among the residents of Nord-Gudbrandsdalen. Photo: Anders Bakkerud Larsen / news Assessed as not sane The man charged with the double murder called the police himself after the murders. He was arrested and taken care of by the healthcare system immediately after the incident. Later, a forensic psychiatric examination of the man in his 40s was carried out. The experts believe he was insane when the murders occurred. NOT SURPRISED: Defense attorney Anders Bjørnsen was not surprised by the expert’s conclusion. – The general condition when I met him was not good, and it will become a topic whether the state of health should be assessed by experts, Bjørnsen told news after his first meeting with the accused. Photo: Roar Berntsen / news Police attorney Lars Rune Ringvik in the Innlandet police district has previously told news that the police will propose that an indictment be issued alleging a transfer to compulsory mental health care. The entire forensic psychiatric report is presented when the case comes up in Vestre Innlandet district court. According to the plan, this will take place in the latter half of April. NEIGHBORS: The accused 40-year-old was a neighbor of the murdered couple in the housing complex at Otta. It is not clear what is the motive for the murders. Photo: Geir Olav Slåen / news Difficult to understand The married couple who lost their lives in the knife attack left behind two adult children. Through their assistance lawyer Øystein Skurdal, the bereaved convey that they have taken note of the Statsforvalteren’s conclusion, but that they found it difficult to understand. – We are talking about a seriously ill patient, who three weeks before the murders had sought health care and told about very gross fantasies of violence. We are surprised that he was still released a week before the murders, and that no one can be criticized for that assessment, writes Skurdal in an e-mail to news on behalf of the bereaved. Senior adviser Tony Heyerdal at the State Administrator in the Interior says that the bereaved are welcome to get in touch for further dialogue. – We fully understand that our decision can be difficult to understand without access to the entire factual basis, he writes to news. LOCAL COMMUNITY SHAKED: According to the State Administrator’s report, Sel municipality has supported the health personnel and services involved in the case, the neighborhood where the murders took place and the general population. Among other things, the municipality has made the crisis team available and they have contributed to the establishment of self-help groups. Photo: Alexander Nordby / news
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The accused received proper health care – news Innlandet – Local news, TV and radio
