An investigation into dozens of deaths of the elderly residents of a Nursing Home in Chania is underway amid complaints about the deplorable conditions of the facility, with a total of twenty-five defendants thus far expected to face trial at the Criminal Court of Chania today.
Amongst the defendants are the current deputy governor of Chania, Nikos Kalogeris, and his predecessor, Apostolos Voulgarakis, accused of omission of duty to follow up.
It is alleged that the deputy governor of Chania, whilst having the legal obligation to coordinate and supervise the services of the district that operate within the boundaries of the regional unit, issued in October 2019 and in violation of his duties, a decision revising the license he had already granted to the nursing home – thereby increasing its capacity from 16 places to 46.
Apostolos Voulgarakis, former deputy governor of Chania, is alleged to have illegally licensed the unit in 2012 and, in addition, between 2017 and 2019, failed to take any action to re-verify the operating licence, which had expired in April 2017.
Mr Voulgarakis is accused of failing to take any action to impose a fine or to order the unit to be shut down, even though he was aware that an inspection carried out in 2018 found a violation in relation to the number of guests and also in relation to arbitrary constructions.
The first complaints about the living conditions of the elderly at the Nursing Home in Chania first came to light almost two years ago.
Last February, Chania police officers arrested seven people allegedly involved, including the 67-year-old owner of the elderly care facility, her 43-year-old daughter and co-manager, a 50-year-old general practitioner and head of the unit, a 70-year-old psychiatrist, two nurses aged 44 and 47 and a 42-year-old nurse.
All seven are accused of forming and joining a criminal organisation, homicide, violations of the Law "on conditions for the establishment and operation of Elderly Care Units", forgery and cases of granting and using false medical certificates.
The elderly residing in the Nursing Home in Chania lived in miserable conditions and were dirty and malnourished. In some cases, it is alleged, they were involuntarily and without reason given drugs that are for use by patients with severe mental illnesses, having the effect of inducing a vegetative state while they were fed through the nose, or defecating into catheters, so as to reduce the workload of the staff.
So inhumane were the conditions in the Nursing Home in Chania that a 60-year-old woman entered the facility without any pathological problems weighing 90 kilograms, and died shortly afterwards weighing just 50 kilograms.
The search for justice begins, with the trial commencing today at the Criminal Court of Chania.
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