Finnish care home diluted opioid medication with water and left dying residents unattended

A care home in Hämeenlinna, southern Finland, has been placed under enhanced supervision after years of severe failures, including diluting strong opioid painkillers with water and neglecting end-of-life care, an investigation by public broadcaster Yle reveals.

The Kanta-Häme wellbeing services county took over direct oversight of Päivärinne care home in March, halting new admissions for nearly three weeks. The intervention followed repeated violations in medication safety, staffing shortages, and inadequate pain management for dying residents.

In a rare move, the county temporarily assigned one of its own nurses to the facility for a month to “ensure patient safety and guide service improvements.” Officials confirmed such measures are used only in exceptional cases.

Records from 2022–2026 inspections show persistent issues, including delayed medication administration and shifts without qualified staff to handle drugs. Employees told Yle that dying residents were sometimes left without proper pain relief. In one 2023 case, a resident who fell and struck their head died after transfer to further care; management denied negligence, stating checks had followed protocol.

The home’s operator, Yrjö ja Hanna Hoiva—a chain with prior closures in Tuusula (2025) and Tampere (2022)—claimed recent improvements under new CEO Sari Laakso, who took helm in 2023. Language barriers among the 22 non-Finnish-speaking staff in 2023 also contributed to miscommunication with families and care errors, inspections found.