Elderly people were found dead in their rooms - sharp Ivo criticism of municipalities

Ivo has previously criticized all of Sweden's regions for lack of care in nursing homes.

But now Ivo also reports results from their review of municipalities' responsibilities - an in-depth journal review of 55 municipalities and private contractors.

Found deceased

In Sörmland, Eskilstuna, Katrineholm and Flen are criticized after the authority conducted a closer examination of special housing in the municipalities.

They state that there have been cases in both Eskilstuna and Katrineholm where elderly people with covid-19 have been found dead in their rooms.

Those who have a very short time left to live should not be left alone if they do not want to, writes Ivo, and emphasizes that staffing must be adapted in light of this.

Shortage of staff

Eskilstuna is also criticized for nurses initiating palliative care in the final stages of life without prior contact with a doctor.

Ivo also states that it has not been possible to keep dementia patients with corona infection separate from other patients.

And due to low staffing, staff have had to help each other across unit boundaries, which has meant that staff have met both infected and healthy users.

In his statement on two inspected homes in Katrineholm, Ivo writes that there have been too few nurses on duty.

For a period, the nurse was completely missing and during the examination, one nurse was responsible for twice as many patients as in normal cases.

Here, Ivo has also seen shortcomings in record keeping.

"Very economical" documentation

Even in the municipality of Flen, there has been a break in the record keeping and this has resulted in it not being possible to follow the care of the elderly with suspected or established covid-19.

The Inspectorate for Health and Care Services has examined a nursing home in the municipality and calls the documentation "very sparse".

In some cases, it has taken several days before covid symptoms are documented.

By 15 March at the latest, the municipalities criticized by Ivo must tell the authority about what measures are being taken to remedy the shortcomings.