Elderly woman had 52 different care givers

Over the course of one year, an elderly woman living in Ängelholm, in southern Sweden, was visited by 52 different care givers from home care services. Her daughter is now pleading for help from the municipality, asking that something be done about the high staff turnover.

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“Having to explain for the 53rd person to show up what kind of yoghurt she wants, or whether she wants to be moisturized after her shower, it’s just not dignified,” wrote the daughter in a letter, according to local newspaper Helsingborgs Dagblad.

The home care services include help with cleaning, shopping and showering. Not knowing who’s going to show up on her doorstep intending to help her with these personal tasks has been a strain on the elderly woman, according to her daughter.

“I’ve seen how it’s worn her down, and how much energy it takes from her,” she wrote.

“I agree that this is too many different helpers, especially when help with personal care and hygiene is involved,” said Liselott Perlhagen, who heads the home care services in Nya centrum, the Ängelholm district where the elderly woman lives.

According to the municipality, however, the situation isn’t unique, as staff rotate and take extra shifts when the scheduled staff is ill, on vacation, or at home with children.

“If we’re to decrease our staff rotation, we’ll also be forced to decrease our care recipients’ options for when they want help. It’s a matter of priorities,” Perlhagen said to Helsingborgs Dagblad.