Today, the 55-year-old former director of the former healthcare institution De Brink-Akker from Wijster was sentenced to nine months in prison, six of which were conditional. The Public Prosecution Service (OM) accuses her of being negligent and of leaving a client to his fate, causing the man to die.
The woman from Emmen is also being prosecuted for “failing to organize qualified healthcare personnel at the location overnight”.
The incident happened six years ago. The victim is said to be vulnerable and has just come out of hospital. He could not care for himself and was therefore entitled to 24-hour care.
On the night of January 19 to 20, 2018, he did not receive that care. There were no staff in the building and the so-called backup, something that the director took on that evening, did not work.
The colleague on the night shift canceled and the director started looking for a replacement. During her search, she fell asleep due to her sleep problems. The client’s calls went unanswered.
The suspect admitted to deleting the call history of both her and the victim’s phones in a panic. “Otherwise the doors will be locked here. I have to do something,” she said during the trial.
In addition to deleting the call history and falling asleep, the Public Prosecution Service also blames the director for not changing the policy, because in 2016 something went wrong with the same victim.
The man lay in the common room for five hours with a broken hip. He was found by a fellow client. Even then, there was no 24-hour supervision and care.
The OM’s conclusion is therefore that the former director is not only suspicious as a person, but that the company can also be held liable. The Public Prosecution Service did take mitigating circumstances into account.
Those involved say that the suspect had a financial interest in the bad policy, but the Public Prosecution Service does not want to prosecute the suspect for this. Witnesses also called the healthcare institution “a party center for people with psychological problems”.
Investigations by the inspectorate also showed that there had been no staff present at night for a long time. “This turned out to be part of regular business operations,” the Public Prosecution Service said.
The judge will make a ruling in two weeks.