Health professionals threatened and intimidated patients in LSS homes

Of: Erik wiman

Published: October 06, 2020 at 18.20

Forced showers, periodic penalties and threats.

For several years, users of an LSS house in Uddevalla were forced to live for fear of harassment from staff; now eight employees have been suspended.

– I have never seen anything like this, I am so sad, says the social director of the municipality, Roger Granat.

The current accommodation in Uddevalla is a home with special services for people with mental illness. But instead of creating security, the municipality has defrauded users. It’s been clear since an employee sounded the alarm last spring.

According to the municipality’s own research, a large part of the staff has built what can best be described as a reign of terror, first reported on by the Bohuslänningen newspaper.

– It saddens me and I understand that trust in us is damaged, says the social manager of Uddevalla, Roger Granat.

Photo: Google

Health professionals threatened and intimidated patients in LSS homes. GENREBILD.

Fear of staff

Two reports have been submitted to the Swedish Health and Care Inspectorate (IVO). One refers to the living conditions of the users of the accommodation. They have been subjected to threats, punishments and forced showers by staff. According to the report, users were afraid of staff and feared consequences if they did not follow orders. A woman has said that they watched her when she took care of her intimate hygiene. Users suffering from vomiting must have been forced to dry off after themselves to get new foods. The staff must have also rudely teased and joked about eating disorders.

The privacy of users has been violated and the exercise of power by the staff has reduced the self-esteem of the neighbors, the municipality writes in the documents to IVO.

The first warning signs came as early as 2016, but without being taken seriously. It was only in March of this year that the municipality began to investigate the situation in the accommodation. On September 10, eight of the 13 employees at the residence were suspended from work.

How could this continue for so long?

– It is completely unacceptable. This is partly a management issue where they did not delve into the warning signs, and partly this has been a very strong pooling among staff.

Secret chat group

The second report to IVO concerns a secret group in the Messenger chat feature. There, employees have shared sensitive personal data about users. Among other things, employees shared photos on people’s drug lists and discussed personal information.

– There has been a lot of crude and derogatory jargon, says Roger Granat.

According to information from Bohuslänningen, outsiders must also have had access to the courier group.

The municipality now plans to conduct one or more police reports against those involved.

– We have a material of several hundred pages and we want to go through everything before making reports so we don’t miss anything, says Roger Granat.

For IVO, the municipality affirms that the irregularities are so serious that the measures that are being taken now are equated with the start-up of a completely new business.

Published: October 06, 2020 at 18.20