HYOGO (TR) – The body of a male resident at a facility for the elderly in Akashi City was discovered nearly two weeks after he died last month, it has been learned, reports TV Asahi (May 31).
On May 22, a staff employee at Palmary Inn Akashi found the body of the man, 91, inside his private room. At the time, his body had decayed considerably.
Under the contract the man had with the facility, he did not require nursing care or that his meals be prepared.
However, his family asked the facility to check on him after he fell ill on May 4. Several days later, the facility judged that his condition had improved — a staff member reported seeing him riding a bicycle — and he was not checked again thereafter.
Managed by a company in Kobe, the facility has 100 residents occupying its 90 rooms.
“It is inexcusable,” said executive Koki Nitanda. “In preventing a recurrence, I would like for staff members at the front desk check to check that residents are entering and exiting their rooms.”
The case is being treated as a so-called “isolated death.” On May 31, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare requested that the Akashi City government provide information on the case. In 2012, there were several isolated deaths at similar facilities in Ibaraki Prefecture.
