– My biggest fear as a mother is that Oliver will not be able to tell that he has a stomach ache, is hungry or needs help. Torunn Paus stands in her living room in Os in Bjørnafjorden municipality in Vestland and looks at her son Oliver. The 12-year-old sits on the floor and lifts small toy cars onto the car track. They rush around in a circle, and if they get stuck, he laughs heartily and lifts them back into place. At first glance, Oliver may look like a completely normal 12-year-old. But he has no language and cannot eat solid food. He laughs at a rare chromosomal defect. Torunn and the son use the iPad to communicate. Photo: Simon Skjelvik Brandseth / news Does not use an aid When Oliver went to kindergarten, he received training in an aid that makes it easier for him to communicate. Through the Tobii app on the iPad, he can press simple symbols such as “hunger”, “thirst”, “toy car” or “stomach ache”. He actively uses it at home and at school. Through an app, both Oliver and others can press various symbols, which in turn make it easier to communicate. Photo: Simon Skjelvik Brandseth / news – It was absolutely fantastic. Finally he could explain what he wanted and needed, says Paus. But every weekend, Oliver lives in a temporary accommodation from Thursday to Monday. He and other children and young people with special needs live there, so that the parents and the other siblings will have a little respite. When he returns home, the parents see from the screen time of the iPad that the communication tool is rarely used. – It was incredibly hard when we had to realize that we needed help and that Oliver had to offer some relief. You give up the dearest thing you have, says Torunn Paus. Photo: Simon Skjelvik Brandseth / news – It is a serious offence. It’s as if someone put tape over my mouth and wouldn’t let me talk for a whole weekend. It’s absolutely terrible, says the mother. In addition, the screen time shows, according to the parents, that the son has watched over 12 hours on YouTube in one day. – My stomach hurts. They should have taken him on a trip, played ball, whatever. A whole day in front of the screen does nothing for his development, says Paus. Paus took this picture of his son’s iPad after he came home from a weekend off. The municipality says that if this is the case, it is very regrettable, and that employees usually go to great lengths to do as much as possible for the residents. Photo: Privat Several violations of the law in the housing estate The unloading facility is called Varafjell unloading center and is run by Bjørnafjorden municipality. Recently, the State Administrator in Vestland carried out an inspection at the centre, where several breaches of the law were discovered. Among other things, the communication tools for the children are not used by the employees, as they should be. The reason is, among other things, the use of temporary workers and a lack of training. – This is very serious and regrettable, says municipal manager Monica Totland Melvold in Bjørnafjorden municipality. She says she understands that the parents are in despair. – First of all, I am happy that an inspection has been carried out, so that mistakes and shortcomings are uncovered that can be improved, says the municipal manager for health and welfare in Bjørnafjorden. Photo: Synne Sørenes / news The State Administrator also states that much is never recorded. Among other things, a child was injured and taken to the emergency room, without it being entered into any log. This is confirmed by the State Administrator after the inspection: The State Administrator carried out an inspection of Bjørnafjorden municipality and in that connection visited Varafjell relief center and Fusa relief from 20.03.2023 to 22.03.2023. The state administrator has come to the conclusion that: “The municipality does not ensure that measures within habilitation/training are regularly implemented, documented or evaluated for all children in relief housing. The municipality also does not ensure that employees in children’s and respite homes have the necessary training and up-to-date information about the children’s needs, goals and measures. The municipality’s practice entails an unreasonably high risk of urgent measures not being carried out in line with the action plan and the children’s needs. This is a breach of: The Health and Care Services Act §§ 4-1 and 4-2, cf. regulations on management and quality improvement in the health and care services §§ 6-9.” Source: The State Administrator in Vestland. – We are now in the process of reviewing routines and guidelines to put good measures in place to close the deviation, says Melvold and adds that the employees went to great lengths to do the best possible job, but that a lack of resources and temp work is challenging. Varafjell unloading center is an offer for children and young people under the age of 18 with reduced functional abilities. They have 10 places for children and young people with combined disabilities. Photo: Simon Skjelvik Brandseth / news – Municipal councilor caught with his pants down The inspection of Varafjell is just one of many inspections that are carried out at a number of drop-off centers for children and young people around the country this year. Preliminary numbers are clear. Out of a total of 34 inspection reports delivered to the Norwegian Health Authority so far, breaches of the law have been found in 27 of them. So probably 80 percent. The inspection will last until 2023 and a final, national report will be delivered in the new year. Consistently in the reports are breaches of the law that concern follow-up and facilitation for the users, such as the use of communication tools. The investigation is spread over the whole country. In the East, violations of the law were found at all residential buildings. In the West, violations of the law have so far been proven in Time and Sola municipalities. The inspection from Bjørnafjorden municipality is not part of this list, because a final report has not been submitted to the Norwegian Health Authority. In Central Norway, violations of the law have so far been found in all municipalities that have been investigated. There are three public reports from the north. A breach of the law has been found in Alta municipality. – It hurts to read that it is such a high number and it is very serious that so many offenses are found. It is also appalling that children are directly harmed, says Håvard Ravn Ottesen of the Handicapped Children’s Parents’ Association. This is the inspection: In autumn 2022, the Norwegian Health Authority started a nationwide inspection of children’s and respite homes in Norwegian municipalities. The aim is to map whether children in the housing estates receive habilitation and training in accordance with their needs. It is the State Administrator in the county who carries out the inspection. The nationwide inspection lasts until 2023, but the reports are submitted and published continuously. So far, 34 reports have been submitted, of which 23 are public. The rest are not published, because there are so few children living in the home that the report could reveal the children’s identities. Of the 34 submitted reports, there is a documented violation of the law in 27 of them. In several of the housing estates, the breach of the law amounts to inadequate follow-up of the children. Employees do not ensure that the children receive the arranged habilitation they are entitled to. In many housing estates, there is no plan for how the child is to be followed up, what the child must work for and against in order to develop or what the staff must do to help the child’s development. In addition, violations of the law relating to record keeping have been uncovered. In several housing estates, incidents concerning the children are not recorded, either because the employees have not received good enough training, or because good enough routines have not been established in the housing estate. The last time a nationwide inspection was carried out at such institutions was in 2009. Source: Norwegian Health Authority. He says that many parents of children with special needs are frustrated and unsure whether they can accept the offer they receive from the municipality they live in. – I still have the benefit of meeting someone who sends their children to respite care because they want to . They do it because they have to. The inspection shows that there is a lot to deal with, says Ottesen. Ottesen in HBF believes that it is high time that there is a nationwide inspection of offloading bus stations. The last time this was done was in 2009. Photo: Trond Odin Myhre Johansen / news He believes two things are needed to improve the situation: getting enough resources and expertise in place, and a greater focus on the problem among the local politicians. – Here, a good number of municipalities have been caught with their pants down. They haven’t done their job. he says. If the son is delivered with a lump in his stomach In Os there is no other offer for Oliver and the family than Varafjell relief. Torunn Paus says she delivers her son with a lump in her stomach every single time. – I give away the dearest and most vulnerable thing I have. But I have to look after the other children too. It is not an easy choice and it takes a toll on the psyche. She hopes there will be a greater focus on children and parents of children with special needs. Oliver loves playing PlayStation together with his older brother Elias Nicolai, aged 14. Photo: Simon Skjelvik Brandseth / news – There is a lot of talk about the offer for the elderly, and that is good. But these children will live a whole life. As it is now, it is not good enough. She is left with a fear that extended far beyond her own lifetime. – I am so afraid that I will die, without Oliver as an adult being able to communicate with people other than us. That is the most important and most painful thing for me, she says. Hello! Thank you for reading the story about Oliver and relief shelters around the country. Did you think anything when you read the case? Do you have any tips for other things I should prepare? I am a journalist at news Vestland and write stories from the entire county.
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The Norwegian Health Authority uncovers deficiencies in drop-off shelters for children with special needs – news Vestland
