A relative of the St Vincent de Paul home carer who was suspended on Monday told The Malta Independent that what happened to the elderly patient was an accident, and not an alleged case of abuse, as stated in the Department of Information statement.

The relative said that the carer was putting the patient to bed when the latter stumbled. The carer intervened to stop the fall but the patient must have ended up hitting his face against the bed’s metal bar, which resulted in serious injuries.

The patient was taken to hospital for treatment, while the carer was suspended pending an investigation into what the DOI said was an alleged abuse.

But this was no abuse at all, the relative said. This was a plain accident and the carer did his best to intervene when he saw the patient falling, the relative said, adding that the carer’s intervention possibly prevented more serious injuries.

The carer was on his own in the ward at the time and there were no visible injuries to the patient. The carer also reported the incident but it was only later that the bruises showed up on the patient’s face.

The relative said that saying it was a case of abuse or that there was an argument is a lie, and it hurt to see so many negative comments by people who did not know what had taken place.