Caregiver at risk to life and property: how to end a series of deception

They are so numerous that the Russian Bar Association has proposed adopting a law that would regulate work in this area.

Irina Mishina

The stories of nurses hired to care for the elderly or infirm are increasingly making headlines in crime reports. Among the main complaints from the employing party are the theft of money, things and jewelry from elderly or sick relatives, attempts to persuade them to be included in a will or rewrite the property to a nurse. Some cases, striking in the degree of cruelty of nurses, have become material for criminal cases.

One of the latest incidents came to the attention of the Investigative Committee. A 42-year-old woman from Uzbekistan was detained in Moscow, who worked as a nurse for a 90-year-old woman with dementia. The nurse was handed over to the police by her acquaintances, in front of whom she was beating a dumb old woman. After a check conducted by law enforcement agencies, it turned out that for a long time the woman systematically tortured her helpless ward. The investigation instituted a criminal case on the grounds of a crime under Article 117 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation "Torture".

No less resonant case occurred with the famous Soviet inventor Vladimir Bruver. The pensioner suffered from Alzheimer's disease, doctors prescribed him bed rest. Broover's daughter hired him a nurse who identified herself as Anna, presented a sheaf of letters of recommendation, and convinced her family that she had a medical degree. The relatives believed the nurse and did not visit the old man for a long time. Imagine the surprise of the inventor's daughter when she arrived and found that her father stopped walking on his own, partially lost his sight and lost 45 kg! Broover's daughter set up a hidden camera. She also filmed the beatings and humiliations that the nurse subjected the man to. By the way, she turned out to be not Anna at all, but 36-year-old native of Uzbekistan, Mesimba Ajelalova.

The mystery of the death of actress Alla Meshcheryakova is also connected with her nurse. It is still not clear whether the hiding "assistant" is guilty of the death of the actress. On the day of the death of the Honored Artist of Russia, her daughter Natalya turned to the police with a statement. According to her, 30 thousand rubles and jewelry were missing from the Moscow apartment of her parents - Alla Meshcheryakova and 84-year-old documentary filmmaker Vladimir Konovalov. The nurse disappeared.

“Unfortunately, people who often need to improve their financial situation, citizens without housing and profession, migrants without any qualifications are allowed to work as nurses. Such nurses cannot give any guarantees of observance of medical secrets, secrets of private life. There are risks of loss of property, extortion, violence instead of professional medical assistance and psychological support and help around the house, which the employer needs, ”said Maria Arkhipova (Bakst) , chairman of the Russian Bar Association“ For Human Rights”.

The field of nursing services has recently become in demand more than ever. Some do not want to put the elderly relatives at risk of contracting the coronavirus, who are quarantined and face a fine for leaving the house. Others themselves are on self-isolation due to illness or contact with a sick person and therefore cannot visit elderly relatives. In short, the services of nurses during the pandemic have become in demand in large quantities. However, this service sector is currently not regulated in any way. In the event of unlawful actions by the nurses, many prefer not to waste time in the courts, not to spend money on lawyers, but simply quickly change the nurse. As a result, the "criminal nurses" go unpunished. New old people and sick people become their "victims".

“You have to understand that now people with low qualifications are going to get a job as nurses, employers have no guarantee that a person has a medical education. So, in the house there may be a stranger who will not really clean up after your relative, will not change his sheets and diapers, will not be able to give an injection, will not be able to put an IV or change a catheter, etc. Slightly more insured are those who conclude an agreement with the agency, but this is not enough - the owners of the agencies themselves complain that they also encounter fraudsters, ”says Yulia Arkhipova, an expert with the Association of Lawyers For Human Rights.

Beatings and physical bullying are only part of the problems that are revealed after people hire an unverified person as a nurse. Increasingly, there are cases when an elderly person is trying to persuade by all means to rewrite the apartment to a nurse, use his personal belongings, receive his pension, steal and sell valuable things from the apartment. Here are just a few of the crime stories that Human Rights Bar Association had to face.

- Man S. from Khimki near Moscow had a psychiatric disability and could not serve himself. A female nurse was hired for him. During the first month of "leaving" the man first received a fractured ribs (he was beaten by a friend of the nurse), and then ended up in a psychoneurological boarding school. Prior to that, the nurse had formalized the receipt of the ward's pension and took the man to a notary to draw up a will in her favor.

-In Moscow, a pensioner, the owner of a three-room apartment on Leninsky Prospekt, almost lost her life and housing. Her family hired an au pair. It soon became clear that this assistant had nowhere to live, and she settled with the old woman in her large apartment. After heartfelt conversations for several months, the young woman recognized all the weak points of the apartment owner and literally brought her to a suicide attempt, leaving the sleeping pills in a prominent place. Before that, she inspired the impressionable pensioner that she had no reason to live. This was preceded by the signing of a will for the apartment of the pensioner to her assistant. After that, the assistant left, so as not to interfere with the old woman to go to the next world. The elderly woman took the pills but decided to call her sister and tell her that she had decided to commit suicide. The sister called an ambulance, the woman was hospitalized and rescued. But it took a long time to challenge the will of the apartment ...

All these criminal cases have forced experts to think about the adoption of a new law that would regulate the relationship between the employer and those who select personnel. The Russian Bar Association For Human Rights advocated the adoption of a law that would regulate this area and introduce transparency in the relationship between employer and employee. “This law should determine whether a nurse must register as self-employed and pay taxes herself, or work under an agreement with an agency that will be responsible for her employee. Certification of nurses is also required so that the employer is sure that there is a qualified specialist in the house or in the hospital ward next to his relative, who can, for example, change a duck, a diaper, give an injection without negative consequences for the patient or person in need of care. Such a certified employee will cost more than now, when the cost of a nurse's working day starts at 200 rubles a day, but does not guarantee anything at all”, - said Yulia Arkhipova, an expert of the Russian Bar Association.

However, judging by the ads, today many are looking for caregivers without intermediaries and without contacting recruiting agencies. And by doing so, they put their loved ones at serious risk.

“We advocate training for nurses. The caregiver must have the skills of a health care provider. In any case, she should be able to provide the necessary assistance. All this must be taught. In our opinion, the Ministry of Health, the State Duma Committee on Health Protection, Roszdravnadzor, regional committees on labor and social policy should be involved in solving this problem. A caregiver is a person who is responsible for the health and condition of the person entrusted to him, therefore, in addition to personal agreements, when hiring, documents and guarantees of the health safety of the person the caregiver looks after are needed. In fact, this is a professional activity. In our opinion, training in nursing skills should take place free of charge - just like the courses for adoptive parents, for example”, - the Russian Bar Association believes.

Unfortunately, today our legislators have no control over the spontaneous folk craft of “nursing”, so the vacant niche was quickly occupied by swindlers. No, there are of course honest and responsible people among the caregivers. There are also bona fide recruiting agencies, although they are not easy to find. So people often have to protect their property and their interests themselves. Until the law regulating the work of caregivers is passed, lawyers provide some advice.

It is best to hire someone with a middle-aged medical background. You need to immediately discuss and draw up on paper how much and for what services you will pay, without abstract phrases like "put everything in order." If the employer pays the nurse for every hour of work, then she should not sleep, eat or dig into other people's things at this time. And one more thing: no one can work eight hours in a row without sitting down and eating. It might be better to hire someone for a time in the morning and evening. Even if you hire a nurse through an agency, check and rewrite your passport details carefully. Check for medical diplomas or courses. It is best to draw up a contract yourself, where you clearly state what the caregiver should do and the amount of payment, otherwise you will have to pay for "additional" services. Those who work in this area are often cynical people, so it's better not to leave gold and money in the apartment just in case. And it is advisable to rewrite the apartment itself, because litigation in our country is a thankless task.