All have the right to feel safe in our elderly care and there we have failed. We have not succeeded in our mission to protect our users.
This is stated by Tobias Smedberg (V), chairman of the elderly committee in Uppsala Municipality, at a press conference in Uppsala where an internal report on the serious incidents within home care was discussed during the afternoon in the elderly committee.
Since Upsala Nya Tidnings revelation about how an 84-year-old woman was assaulted and raped by a male employee from the municipal home care, Uppsala Municipality has begun to request extracts from the criminal records at employment.
Previous suspension
Despite the woman alerting the municipality about the home care employee, he was allowed to continue working. The municipality also missed that the reason for the man's previous suspension from home care jobs was information about sexual abuse.
We want as a municipality to take the lead when it comes to extended background checks. There is a certain uncertainty about what is legally applicable, which has made Municipal Sweden too naive in recruitment processes, says Tobias Smedberg.
How many more may have been affected by the former home care employee is still unclear, but according to the director of the care and nursing administration, Lenita Granlund, approximately 200 users in the affected area will be contacted shortly.
Safety-enhancing technology
Uppsala Municipality will also review the management within home care, where no person will be responsible for more than 30 employees.
Furthermore, support for users who report incidents will be improved and the municipality will invest more in safety-enhancing technology to prevent similar incidents from occurring.
The accused man has since been dismissed by the municipality. He denies the crime and the preliminary investigation into the rape has been discontinued due to lack of evidence.
