Independent review

Commission to investigate nursing home case

Symbolic image.

(Bild: stock.adobe.com - Peter Atkins)

After a resident of a Senecura care home in Hard (Vorarlberg) died and the man's sons made massive allegations against the home, state councillor Katharina Wiesflecker is now setting up a separate commission to investigate the case. 

Following the death of an 89-year-old man in a care home in Vorarlberg in August 2022 and the family's allegations that the man may have been neglected becoming known, State Councillor for Social Affairs Katharina Wiesflecker (Greens) is vehemently opposing accusations of a cover-up. She wants to set up an independent commission next week to investigate the case once again. Previously, both the opposition and the ÖVP as government partners had called for clarification.

Wiesflecker said on Saturday that she was also setting up the commission of experts - without members from the state - to protect the official experts. Following a complaint from the family, the official expert had examined the man's care and assessed it as "appropriate". Statements that the state was "sweeping something under the carpet" in this case were without foundation, the state councillor emphasized. Should further cases of suspected inadequate care arise, the commission will also take a close look at these cases. "The care system must not be brought into disrepute," Wiesflecker emphasized. Above all, we must protect those who do a good job every day.

Clarification demanded
Earlier on Saturday, ÖVP social spokesperson Heidi Schuster-Burda had called for "complete clarification". All relevant documents in connection with the case must be fully disclosed. On Friday, the FPÖ had already demanded "clear and concrete clarification" in the case and "control of conditions" in all care homes in light of the allegations that had become public. Manuela Auer (SPÖ) felt that the state was required to "do its part to provide complete clarification". The NEOS saw a "catastrophic picture" with regard to the 89-year-old's death and submitted a parliamentary question. According to Wiesflecker, she will meet with her coalition partner on Monday and on Tuesday with all social spokespersons of the state parliamentary parties and the care home operator.

Greatly reduced
According to a report by the research platform "Dossier", the 89-year-old is said to have lost 15 kilos in three months and weighed just 46 kilos. The senior citizen had previously become a care case following heart surgery and the onset of dementia. He moved into the nursing home in April 2022. His sons had quickly noticed his father's rapid weight loss, but the home had not responded to the relevant information. After just a few weeks in the facility, the man had to undergo surgery due to pressure sores. At the end of July 2022, the care measures were reviewed by the official expert.

The care home operator firmly rejects the allegations. "We investigated the matter internally and allowed both the official expert from the Office of the Vorarlberg Provincial Government and the Vorarlberg Care Ombudsman's Office to inspect the files without restriction," says the managing director. The description of an alleged malnutrition was simply false. In view of his state of health, the man had already lost a lot of weight during the home care provided by mobile services.