The city of Oudenaarde (East Flanders) has launched an external investigation into De Meerspoort nursing home following reports of inappropriate behaviour.
Immediate measures have been implemented following a report by the Flemish Agency for Care and Health. Four young people, including an 18-year-old student worker, have been arrested for filming and distributing inhumane videos of elderly people living in the home.
The 18-year-old was charged and imprisoned for theft, degrading treatment and voyeurism. The three other suspects, who were also detained, are the 20-year-old brother of the first person arrested (who also worked in Meerspoort), another 19-year-old man and the 20-year-old partner of the first suspect. The latter had already been dismissed from a student job in a care centre for adults with disabilities in Kortrijk.
Groen Councillor Elisabeth Meuleman, who is responsible for elderly care, emphasised the need for transparency to understand what went wrong and how to improve.
"We have initiated an external investigation into the residential care centre. This should help identify necessary structural improvements," she said. "We aim to fully uncover what happened and ensure it never occurs again."
Elisabeth Meuleman (Groen). Credit: Belga / Jonas Roosens
Local authorities confirmed their active cooperation with the ongoing judicial investigation. They have also invited the relatives of the affected residents to voice their concerns.
Last week, the Agency imposed measures on the home, including the development of appropriate procedures for prevention, detection, and response to inappropriate behaviour by 4 April.
Local police are now investigating new complaints of thefts that relatives of residents say occurred before the degrading treatment came to light.
Two staff members had already been dismissed in 2019 and 2020 for inappropriate behavior.
