The civil ombudsman comes with harsh criticism of Kristiansand municipality in a recent report on the housing offer for the mentally handicapped.
Inger Ingebretsen and Brede Skaalerud in Kristiansand municipality are responsible for the services, which are now receiving harsh criticism from the Civil Ombudsman. – We learn a lot from the report, says Skaalerud.
Photo: Kjartan Bjelland / Fædrelandsvennen
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KRISTIANSAND: Seven people at four different addresses in Kristiansand municipality have been visited by the Civil Ombudsman, who has mapped how the municipality works with, among other things, the use of coercive measures such as protection and locking.
– Several of the residents were at times prevented from getting out of their apartment, among other things by the door being locked, says settlement representative Kirsten Sandberg, according to NTB.
In some cases, this was carried out without a decision, while in other cases a decision was made without the conditions of the law being met, according to the Civil Ombudsman’s report, which comes with harsh criticism from both Kristiansand municipality and the State Administrator in Agder.
Routine confinement of persons constitutes a risk of inhuman or degrading treatment, the Civil Ombudsman states.
– The report covers services for people with developmental disabilities. This is a vulnerable group, and we learn a lot from the report, says health and coping director Brede Skaalerud in a statement on the municipality’s website.
Kristiansand municipality says they take the report seriously, and that it will be the basis for important improvement work in the future.
Fædrelandsvennen will return with more about this case.
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