‘This was no abuse, it was an accident,’ relative of suspended SVPR carer says

● Carer stumbled putting patient to bed

A relative of a St Vincent De Paul Residence carer suspended following allegations of abuse has told The Malta Independent that the injuries suffered by an elderly patient were the result of an accident.

According to the relative – and contrary to a Department of Information (DOI) statement regarding the incident – the carer was putting the patient to bed when the latter stumbled. Despite the carer attempting to break his fall, the patient must have hitting his face against the bed’s metal bars, resulting in serious injuries, the relative said.

The patient was taken to hospital for treatment, while the carer was suspended pending an investigation into what the DOI described as alleged abuse.

But this was no abuse at all, the relative said, but was simply an accident. The carer had done his best to intervene when he saw the patient falling, the relative added, suggesting that the carer’s intervention might have even prevented more serious injuries.

The carer was on his own in the ward at the time and there were no visible injuries to the patient. The carer also reported the incident but it was only later that the bruises showed up on the patient’s face.

The relative said that any claims that this was a case of abuse or that there had been an argument were false, and it hurt to see so many negative comments by people who did not know what had taken place.