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In May and June, when the infection was at its worst, ten people died in Vallehemmet and two in another house with established covid-19. According to the municipality manager in an interview with SVT at the time, the majority of residents and staff were infected in the worst affected home.
But despite this, the municipality did not want to answer questions from concerned family members of uninfected people whether the corona infection was present in the accommodation. The motivation: the confidentiality of the patient. A relative, Henrik Nyberg, reported this to the appeals court, which did not take the case for formal reasons (how the question was asked), so the court did not grant the right to the municipality or the relatives.
“He told us there is no infection there”
Family members were concerned both for residents who might be infected and for their own part because many family members themselves were a risk group of more than 70 people. SVT Nyheter Väst met Jan-Åke Göransson, whose 91-year-old mother was transferred back to Vallehemmet after a hospital stay. When he returned, the infection was at its worst. 16 days later she was dead, but not with the covid-19 established.
– They have always told us that there is no infection there. We feel cheated, Jan-Åke Göransson told SVT in June.
Jan-Åke and his wife Ingrid were most concerned for Ingalill’s 89-year-old husband and themselves, over 70, and others who were caring for her in the severely affected area on June 26 when Ingalill passed away.
Despite their repeated questions, both on June 10 and June 26, the message was always that there was no infection in Vallehemmet, the couple said.
Accommodation name
When the infection returns now, the handling of the information is different. In a press conference on Friday, both activities were named where infection has now been found “in connection with” the activities. The affected nursing home was again Vallehemmet in Axvall.
Now the municipality of Skara is introducing what is called a “visitation strike” to all the special accommodation, which in practice means a strong call not to go there. When it comes to kindergarten, all staff are screened. The municipality has decided not to accept substitutes and to carry out a special hygienic cleaning.
“We changed the way we report on this”
The decision to name the affected companies was taken last summer, when it was agreed in the municipality’s management team that confidentiality is adequately protected as long as it is not indicated whether it is the staff or users who have been confirmed infected.
– We changed the way we report this. When all this was new, they had to discuss the whole issue of patient privacy, it has been a big problem in all municipalities, says Peter Blom, communications manager for Skara municipality.
Couldn’t you have already named the houses this spring without pointing out the staff or users?
– It was the assessment we made based on the knowledge we had then. Laws and regulations can sometimes be vague, and since last spring we’ve wanted to be sure we’re doing the right thing, not nibbling on the secret, says Peter Blom.
In the clip below, you can hear more about how the municipality reasoned last spring about not naming the accommodation.
One in three residents died in covid-19: Skara municipality refuses to say where
