Safety Investigation Authority to investigate two deaths of patients with memory disorders in elderly care homes

The Safety In­ves­ti­ga­tion Au­thor­ity, Fin­land will in­ves­ti­gate the deaths in el­derly care homes that oc­curred on 7 De­cem­ber 2025 and 7 Jan­u­ary 2026. The first case in­volved the death of a res­i­dent with a mem­ory dis­or­der fol­low­ing re­strain­ing mea­sures in a pri­vate care homes in the Well­be­ing Ser­vices County of South­west Fin­land. In the sec­ond case, a res­i­dent of a hous­ing unit of the Well­be­ing Ser­vices County of La­p­land died when, ac­cord­ing to cur­rent in­for­ma­tion, an­other res­i­dent of the same hous­ing unit er­ro­neously went to the room of the for­mer, climbed onto their bed, which re­sulted in the death of this res­i­dent.

“In its previous safety investigations, the Safety Investigation Authority, Finland has addressed issues in the home care of older people and the safety of housing units for older people. The number of older people is increasing in Finland. Their care is also a question of values in society: The presently launched investigation will address the safety of the older people in the most vulnerable position. This is, to a large extent, a question of public safety – and the duty of the Safety Investigation Authority” , emphasises Hanna Tiirinki, Investigator in Charge.

The investigation will focus on the structures, processes and conditions of ensuring client safety for residents with memory disorders in elderly care homes in the wellbeing services counties. In addition, the investigation will cover the safety of restrictive measures for people with memory disorders and the actions of the authorities.

“In practice, this refers to the investigation of safety management systems (SMS). SMSs have traditionally not been discussed in the healthcare and social welfare sector; however, this makes it all the more important that rules, instructions, operating practices, values and resources are in place. This also includes the investigation of safety culture. We also need to examine the legal framework. The safety investigation also involves examining the actions of the authorities. This will also allow us to focus on ensuring safety in service units for older people, whose primary task is to ensure an adequate level of service and safety ,” Tiirinki explains.

The purpose of the safety investigation is to improve public safety and prevent new accidents and incidents. Matters of guilt and liability will not be addressed in the investigation.

The duration of the safety investigation is approximately 9 to 12 months.

The Lapland Police is carrying out a pre-trial investigation of the incident that occurred in the Wellbeing Services County of Lapland.