The Carabinieri, in execution of an order from the investigating judge, arrested four people, three of whom belong to the same family unit, under investigation for various reasons, for kidnapping, abusive practice of the healthcare profession and abandonment of incapable persons, against elderly guests of a retirement home in Caltanissetta.
The ordinance originates from investigations launched in June 2023 by the Radiomobile Operations section of the Carabinieri company which allegedly revealed an alleged illicit conduct of the assistance activity.
According to the prosecution's theory, the elderly would have been abandoned in the facility every day, even for several hours, despite their requests for care, and left without adequate assistance, especially at night.
The investigations also revealed that the retirement home lacked adequate organizational and hygienic-sanitary requirements.
The absence of suitable professional figures was also ascertained, as they lack the qualifications necessary to correctly safeguard the health of the patients.
The elderly guests were also allegedly given tranquilizers without any medical prescription to cope with the absence of staff, especially at night.
The investigations made it possible to accuse one of the suspects of a series of behaviors that would constitute the crime of kidnapping: an elderly patient would have been 'locked up' in his bed through the use of iron grids, normally used as barriers sides, preventing it from moving during the night.
The soldiers of the Carabinieri, on the orders of the investigating judge of Caltanissetta, seized the retirement home, now entrusted to a judicial administrator, also carrying out a health and hygiene inspection of the same structure with the help of personnel from the anti-adulteration unit and healthcare of Ragusa.
Medical personnel also participated in the operations to check the health conditions of the elderly.
Reproduction reserved © Copyright ANSA