Rescue operation for 59-year-old Andrej from Kočevje is underway. Will a solution be found for him after four months of agony?

Time: 7:30 AM

The day starts with a meeting at the Municipality of Kočevje with all involved parties: the Health Center, Social Work Center (CSD), and Nursing Home that have failed and left incapacitated Andrej in the lurch. The mayor and deputy mayor have been in action since Friday, working to resolve Andrej's situation.

Time: 9:00 AM

Social workers visit Andrej and present him with an unacceptable offer to place him in a local shelter for addicts. Andrej rejects the offer because he is afraid. In the shelter, he would have to spend the night alone in a room with alcohol and drug addicts and homeless people. He would also have to perform his needs in bed in front of strangers. This is unacceptable and entirely undignified from a human perspective. The social workers, who also rudely confront our news team, especially the cameraman, storm off and slam the door.

Time: 9:30 AM

Deputy Mayor Andrej Mladenović and a craftsman who will ensure normal living conditions arrive at Andrej's place. The deputy mayor informs him that they have found some possible solutions, but it won't happen overnight. However, they promise to clean the premises overnight and make them suitable for living. In Andrej's small room, they will take care of new plaster, as the ceiling is collapsing, new windows (as the current ones are broken and patched with adhesive tape, letting in wind and cold), and they will replace his uncomfortable and medically inappropriate bed with a hospital bed suitable for further rehabilitation.

Time: 10:00 AM

Mayor Dr. Vladimir Prebilič and the director of the health center, Emir Kuduzović, arrive at Rožna ulica in Kočevje, where Andrej's home is located. The mayor explains the course of the action to the incapacitated fellow citizen and says that today they have also considered and forwarded his application for admission to the nursing home, which was inexplicably delayed. They have also decided with the health center director to provide him with rehabilitation, regular physiotherapy, and a home care nurse who will accompany him daily, and ensure basic care, regular meals, and doctor visits.

Time: 11:00 AM

After visiting the local shelter, we have verified that staying there for an immobile person who also performs his needs in bed is not suitable. The room he would inhabit would have to be shared with four other people. Safety for him would not be appropriately ensured. A new action immediately started, and the mayor and the health center director quickly arranged a hospital bed, as the best, albeit short-term, solution for Andrej to stay at home. In the meantime, the mayor organized cleaning, pest control, and the arrangement of a new room in the existing house.

Time: Noon Arrival of the container and cleaning crew.

Time: 1:00 PM Arrival of the Red Cross, which will help clean the premises in the house.

To be continued…

PS: Since Friday, we have been receiving messages from individuals who have found themselves in a situation similar to Andrej's. Mayors from other municipalities are also contacting us with solutions. The Kočevje case is not the only one; it is a systemic failure where key institutions in this country have completely failed. We have also invited both relevant ministers, Luka Mesec for Labor, Family, and Social Affairs, and Simona Maljevac for Solidarity Future, to Kočevje. Both have been aware of Andrej's story since Sunday, but we have not received any response from them or their offices to our message and invitation to Kočevje. Minister Maljevac, however, answered our question at a press conference an hour ago, saying he will inquire about Andrej's case.