Death of home-care client in Helsinki investigated

An elderly woman living in eastern Helsinki was found dead in her apartment. The deceased apparently passed away several weeks ago without being noticed, even though she should have been visited frequently by social workers, local media reported on Wednesday.

The woman was found dead at her home on Monday.

Arja Peiponen, director of senior service department of Helsinki's health and social care services, told Finnish News Agency STT that the woman had been a customer receiving home care service since 2015.

The deceased had been hospitalized and returned home several weeks ago and she should have been visited, according to Peiponen.

She added that the case is now under investigation at the senior service department, alongside an investigation conducted by the police.

Peiponen told the Finnish national broadcaster Yle that it would be premature to say whether the incident was a case of negligence, adding that it could be a human error or a critical communication mistake at the department.

Silja Paavola, chairman of the Finnish Union of Practical Nurses, told Yle that such an unnoticed death of a home care client is not common, but not surprising. She pointed out that the work of practical nurses is overloaded quite often.

According to Paavola, surveys show that a care provider has 10-15 clients to visit in the morning and about 20 clients later in the day.

The union has warned the home care industry that the social workers' workloads have been too much for some time now. "This should never happen in a welfare state," Paavola was quoted as saying.