"Starved to death in the home"

SeneCura’s complaint to the Press Council is rejected

The SeneCura Group denied all allegations at the time.

(Bild: Mathis Fotografie)

In the summer, the case of a senior citizen who died in a SeneCura care home in Vorarlberg caused a stir. The man's relatives accused the home of starving the man to death. A complaint by the home about a "Dossier" article has now been dismissed.  

SeneCura GmbH lodged a complaint against the magazine "Dossier" with the Press Council. The complaint concerned the article "Starving in the home" and the online article "Patient advocate raises serious allegations against Senecura and home supervision".

The articles reported on serious allegations against the SeneCura Group. The main focus was on a patient who died in a nursing home for senior citizens in Hard in Vorarlberg. His relatives claimed that he had not been given enough food and that his wounds had not been treated.

Senecura GmbH essentially complained that the allegations described in the "Dossier" articles were not true, that the complainant's opinion had not been taken into account and that the reputation of the care facility had been damaged.

However, the Press Council did not follow this argument. It stated that the freedom of the press would be particularly far-reaching in the case of abuses in the healthcare system because the topic is of general relevance.

Invitation to comment
Furthermore, there was no breach of the code of ethics, as the grievances had been investigated very thoroughly and SeneCura GmbH had been invited to make a detailed statement long before the article appeared.  

The Press Council also argues that the public prosecutor's office has also investigated the case and that the Vorarlberg patient advocate has also made allegations. The public had a right to know about this. The fact that the criminal investigation was ultimately dropped does not change the fact that the SeneCura Group was heavily criticized. 

No damage to reputation
Against this background, the Press Council does not believe that the reputation of the SeneCura Group has been damaged. "A company that is accused of serious misconduct by numerous people and institutions must accept the reporting of this, especially when this misconduct is diametrically opposed to the actual task of the company - namely the caring support and care of patients," it continues. 

SeneCura GmbH did not respond to the rejection of the complaint within a two-week period.