Elderly woman leaps to death after care 'refusal'
An 84-year-old woman in western Sweden committed suicide on Thursday by throwing herself off her own balcony during a meeting with case officers there to determine whether she could live in an elderly home.
The municipality of Stenungsund has launched an investigation to determine how the woman managed to take her life during a meeting with two case officers, who were in a meeting with the 84-year-old when she went out on the balcony and jumped.
The woman who died had asked for help from the municipality, which is near Gothenburg on the west coast of Sweden. She had requested permission to move into a elderly care home with her husband, but to her understanding, was refused.
"She wanted help, she was old, she couldn't manage any longer. She wanted someone to take care of her in her elderly days," one of the deceased woman's grandchildren told Sveriges Television (SVT).
The case officers had been contacted by the woman two weeks before, and were at the apartment to discuss the woman's options.
"Now we're looking into what when wrong, if it was something with the routines," municipality head Kicki Nordberg told SVT, clarifying that the woman did not receive a definitive no to her requests during the meeting.
The incident has been reported to the police and will be reported to the National Board of Health and Welfare (Socialstyrelsen) in accordance with Sweden's Lex-Maria laws, the informal name for regulations governing the reporting of injuries and incidents in the healthcare system.
It will also likely be reported according to Sweden's Lex-Sarah laws, which oblige staff in the care industry to report instances of patient mistreatment to social services.
TT/The Local/og
Comments
See Also
The municipality of Stenungsund has launched an investigation to determine how the woman managed to take her life during a meeting with two case officers, who were in a meeting with the 84-year-old when she went out on the balcony and jumped.
The woman who died had asked for help from the municipality, which is near Gothenburg on the west coast of Sweden. She had requested permission to move into a elderly care home with her husband, but to her understanding, was refused.
"She wanted help, she was old, she couldn't manage any longer. She wanted someone to take care of her in her elderly days," one of the deceased woman's grandchildren told Sveriges Television (SVT).
The case officers had been contacted by the woman two weeks before, and were at the apartment to discuss the woman's options.
"Now we're looking into what when wrong, if it was something with the routines," municipality head Kicki Nordberg told SVT, clarifying that the woman did not receive a definitive no to her requests during the meeting.
The incident has been reported to the police and will be reported to the National Board of Health and Welfare (Socialstyrelsen) in accordance with Sweden's Lex-Maria laws, the informal name for regulations governing the reporting of injuries and incidents in the healthcare system.
It will also likely be reported according to Sweden's Lex-Sarah laws, which oblige staff in the care industry to report instances of patient mistreatment to social services.
TT/The Local/og
Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.
Please log in here to leave a comment.