The case in summary: Young people are still living in nursing homes against their will, despite the fact that the Storting decided over three years ago that this should not happen and asked the government to propose a change in the law. Jostein Gulsrud (48) is one of these, and describes the situation as hell, with a lack of privacy and social life. Health policy spokesperson Bård Hoksrud in the Progress Party believes it is unacceptable that young people live in nursing homes against their will and is calling for action from the Minister of Health. At the turn of the year, 76 people under the age of 50 had a long-term place in a nursing home, of which 21 wanted to move. The organization LHL believes that it is fundamentally wrong for young people to live in nursing homes and fear the dark numbers. The Ministry of Health and Care has had a legislative proposal on the matter out for consultation and says the government will come back to the Storting with a proposal to follow up on the request decision. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAi. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. – I live with death on the bread slice, literally. People end their lives here, says Jostein Gulsrud (48). The 48-year-old lives in a nursing home, but he does not want to live there. – I have no privacy. I do not have the opportunity to maintain a social life. I go to bed at 19.15 every day and rarely know when I get up. And he says that dementia patients can come into his room at night and shake his bed because they think it’s their room. – “Stowed away” in old people’s home When Jostein was 21 years old, he fell from his veranda and became paralysed. He can move his arms, but is dependent on help to manage. For over 20 years, he lived in his own apartment with user-controlled personal assistance (BPA) and health services. His apartment was a workplace for many people. But in November 2022, Asker municipality chose to discontinue the offer. Jostein Gulsrud lived here before he ended up in a nursing home. Photo: Hallgeir Aunan / news The reason was that the working environment was considered so bad that it was not safe to work there. Documents to which news has access show, among other things, that Gulsett was regarded as a patient who, to a large extent, manages employees in detail. He therefore lost the necessary health care and had to move to a nursing home in Asker. – It feels like being seen as a burden on society. “Stuck away” in an old people’s home without any rights or self-determination over one’s own life. Jostein has admitted mistakes in the past and said that he has said things he shouldn’t have said in some cases. – The West must get its finger out All over the country, people under the age of 50 live in nursing homes that are actually designed for the elderly. They may have reduced function after an accident such as Jostein. ALS, Parkinson’s, ME or other cognitive challenges. Several of them live there against their will. – It is completely unacceptable, says health policy spokesperson Bård Hoksrud in the Fremskrittspartiet. Health policy spokesperson Bård Hoksrud in the Fremskrittspartiet believes it is unacceptable that young people live in nursing homes against their will. Photo: Stian Wåsjø Simonsen / news The Storting has asked the government to propose an amendment to the law that prohibits this. Hoksrud is calling for speed to get the law in place. – Now Health Minister Vestre has to get his finger out. He believes the Minister of Health has only one job to do. – Make sure to follow up. Ensure that these children and young people get a really good and dignified offer without being placed in a nursing home. 21 in a nursing home against their will For almost 30 years, top politicians have advocated that young people should not live in old age and nursing homes. In 2018, a unanimous Storting decided that children should not be placed in nursing homes contrary to the wishes of the family and the best interests of the child. In 2021, the Storting also decided that young people between the ages of 18 and 49 should not live in a nursing home against their will either. Yet it still happens. The state administrators in this country survey the situation in the municipalities and report to the Directorate of Health. At the turn of the year, 76 people under the age of 50 had a long-term place in a nursing home. Two of them were children. 21 young adults wanted to move. There were concrete relocation plans for nine of them. But the numbers are probably higher. The state administrator in Agder has not had the resources to survey. Fear of dark figures The organization LHL has many members who are affected by acute illness, including stroke. Several of them are young and placed in nursing homes. The organization believes this is fundamentally wrong. – A nursing home is not adapted to the needs these people have in their lives, for activity and to be able to have a good family life, says Lars Hjetland in LHL. Lars Hjetland is director of social and health sciences at LHL. Photo: Håkon Benjaminsen / news LHL reacts to the fact that 21 young adults are still living in nursing homes against their will in this country. – That’s 21 too many. And they fear dark figures. – We are afraid that young people who live in nursing homes are not aware of their rights or do not dare to demand to live somewhere else. Almost two years after the Storting’s decision, the Ministry of Health and Care Services sent out a bill for consultation in December 2022. The deadline expired in March last year. The law is still not in place. – It shows that there is a long way from political intentions to political action. LHL believes it is time for the Minister of Health to ensure that the proposal is sent to the Storting in order to have it adopted. Photo: orm Kallestad / NTB Oslo has taken action news has previously told the story of ME sufferer Aurora who was forced to live in a nursing home in Oslo. Earlier this year, the capital’s politicians decided that chronically ill young people should not be placed in nursing homes against their will. According to the Swedish Hospital Administration, seven people under the age of 50 currently live in long-term care homes in Oslo. None of them live there against their will, the agency states. Uncertain when the law will come news has submitted the criticism from Hoksrud and LHL to the Ministry of Health and Care. In a short email, State Secretary Karl Kristian Bekeng defends the use of time. – The legislative work took time because there were several questions of principle that had to be clarified along the way. – The consultation statements have now been summarized, and the government will return to the Storting with proposals for follow-up on the request decision. The Ministry of Health and Welfare will not answer when the new law will be in place. Jostein has hope Jostein Gulsrud believes a ban on placing young people under 50 in nursing homes against their will should have been in place a long time ago. He has a hope when the law one day comes. – That no one should have to experience the hell I have had to endure. Published 28/07/2024, at 19.28
ttn-69
Young people are kept in nursing homes against their will, even though the Storting has decided that this should not happen – Greater Oslo
