LJUBLJANA: An identity mix-up in Slovenia plunged one family into mourning, only to discover after their grandfather’s alleged funeral that they had buried another man from his care home.
Authorities were left so red-faced on Thursday that the health minister offered to resign after the two men, both the same age and both confined to wheelchairs were taken to the same hospital from the same care home in Slovenia’s eastern town of Zidani Most.
“Somebody buried their father yesterday and today found out he was alive, while another family realized today that it was their father who died,” Health Minister Danijel Besic Loredan told a news conference.
The two residents, one of whom had advanced dementia, were taken to hospital last week suffering from different health problems.
One of them died two days later, only for the wrong family to be informed. After a mandatory forensic check, the family organized a cremation and held a funeral on Wednesday.
The mistake was only discovered after the second man recovered from his illness and returned to his care home, where staff realized that he had the wrong identity tag on his wrist.
“This is totally unacceptable,” Besic Loredan told reporters. His offer of resignation was not accepted by the prime minister. Instead, an investigation into the case of mistaken identity has been ordered.
