The Instituto da Segurança Social (ISS) closed an “illegal” care home in Lamorosa, Torres Novas, on Tuesday, October 7, following allegations of potential mistreatment under a criminal investigation.
A statement from Segurança Social indicated that the 19 elderly residents, aged between 77 and 98 years, were living in “very precarious conditions.”
“After contacting their families, nine residents were referred by the Centro Distrital de Santarém da Segurança Social to appropriate social services with cooperation agreements with the ISS, and ten were taken in by their families,” the statement read.
The closure of the illegal care home was requested in collaboration with the Núcleo de Investigação Criminal e Apoio às Vítimas (NIAVE), “aimed at investigating allegations of potential mistreatment crimes within the scope of a criminal inquiry process opened by the Public Ministry (MP).”
The inspection team from the ISS and the Health Authority determined that “the sanitary, health, safety, and comfort conditions posed an imminent danger to the physical integrity, health, comfort, and well-being of the residents.”
As such, an “urgent closure” of the establishment was ordered. The judicial process will continue.
