Despite the multiple autopsy reports of the Attica Region on the Elderly Care Unit in Korydallos over the past five years – which documented heaps of violations and poor and dangerous living conditions for the elderly – and the decision to seal the unit from September 2020, it continued unhindered operation until a few days ago, when the police intervened.

The revelation about the “hell” nursing home began when the Ombudsman, following a citizen’s complaint about the poor living conditions in the unit, attended a surprise autopsy by the competent services of the Region on November 22, 2022.

As it was established and mentioned in the conclusion drawn up by the Advocate – which is available to “K” – on the day of the autopsy, 56 people were housed in the unit, without an operating license and in completely inappropriate conditions.

Dirty, motionless and malnourished

The inmates were unkempt and unkempt and wore dirty clothes that did not belong to them. In the unit upon admission all clothing was kept, placed in a closet and distributed randomly.

All the inmates were motionless, did not speak or communicate, and nowhere was there any element of occupation or entertainment such as a television, radio, book or table.

The atmosphere in the place was suffocating, it smelled of urine and the beds had very thin mattresses and dirty linens.

The inmates were emaciated, weak with a very low body mass index, a result of malnutrition. Some had skin lesions and others appeared to be in pain (yelling for help) yet there was no medical record for anyone, no records of examinations. The alleged doctor justified the absence of the results of the diagnostic tests “because they were given to the relatives”.

“Food seems to be ignored”

At the same time, while new admissions of elderly people were taking place, their details were not recorded anywhere and there were no organized individual files. In fact, some inmates who had been identified in a previous check were found to be absent without any evidence of where they went since there was neither a discharge nor a death certificate.

As characteristically noted in the conclusion, “there are inmates who seem to be ignored”.

The new owner has a criminal record

The miserable conditions described are certainly shocking.

But the most shocking thing that emerges from the conclusion of the Advocate, is that while all that is described has been identified by the services of the Region for at least three years and an order has been given to seal and transfer the elderly to other units, the unit continued to operate and even accept new imports.

In the meantime, at the end of 2021 the Elderly Care Unit – and while sealing decisions were pending against it – was transferred to a new owner who, according to secure information from “K”, has an aggravated criminal record.

The unit was accepting new admissions and at the same time its new owner submitted an application for a license to establish an MPH (Elderly Care Unit), which was rejected by the Region, a day before the last autopsy was carried out with the Citizen’s Advocate.