Nurse permanently banned for abuse of disabled clients at Wedde care farm
A nurse who repeatedly abused vulnerable clients at the Aurora Borealis care farm in Wedde, Groningen, has been permanently banned from working in healthcare, a regional disciplinary tribunal in Zwolle ruled Wednesday. The tribunal cited "structural disrespect" and use of violence against severely disabled residents, RTL reports.
The ruling follows a high-profile criminal case, in which two former leaders of the care farm were sentenced to five years and four months in prison for physically and mentally abusing clients. The victims were severely mentally and physically disabled residents subjected to "a sadistic regime" in their own home.
The nurse at the center of the disciplinary case reportedly told one severely disabled client, "We’ll let you waste away to a skeleton," and suggested locking the client in a room without bathroom access. Video evidence captured him saying, "Throw him in his chair, shove him in a cage, and he doesn’t have to come out anymore," and later, "No more toilet visits, nobody looks after you anymore."
The tribunal also referenced an incident where a client was punished by sitting for hours on a wooden bench outside without a cushion. On another occasion, the nurse and a colleague suggested giving a client a salt bath or putting them in the sun to dehydrate them if they hadn’t drunk enough fluids, with the nurse calling it "a fun idea."
The nurse, identified in court records as Paul W., appealed the ban but showed no remorse or reflection, the tribunal said. "The nurse shows no sign of regret and does not acknowledge his role model function for colleagues," the ruling stated.
In 2023 the Aurora Borealis care farm was ordered to close by the Health and Youth Care Inspectorate (IGJ) after uncovering widespread physical and mental abuse of severely disabled clients. The IGJ found numerous cases of mistreatment, including one client’s head smeared with peanut butter to be licked off by a dog, another left in a ditch, and a client’s head pushed into a toilet.
Caregivers punished clients by putting sand in their beds for not weeding the garden properly, and clients who broke rules were forced to sleep outside—in tents or workshops during bad weather. Verbal abuse was also common, with caregivers calling clients degrading names such as “pervert,” “asshole,” and “Satan.”
The IGJ report detailed an incident where a client with the developmental level of a toddler was put outside for making loud noises. Another case involved a caregiver placing a banana in a client’s pants as punishment for disobedience.
This investigation was reportedly triggered after journalist Albert Stegeman secretly installed hidden cameras at the care farm and shared the footage with police. Six employees were arrested. Two clients were immediately transferred to another healthcare institution, with plans to relocate the remaining eight residents.
