pic: stockholmdirekt.se
It seems to be going around. “It” being hospital staff being laid off.
First it was the two Karolinska hospitals- the old one Karolinska University Hospital, and the new, but disaster-prone, New Karolinska Hospital in Solna. This newest hospital in the country was going to be the bestest and most specialised care available for money. (Bestest isn’t a word, but the superlatives used in describing the hospital ran amuck when the hospital was being built.) Alas, they have no money. After the cost of building the new hospital came to twice the original estimate (and it still doesn’t work well – see lack of sterilized instruments, specialised child care but no play rooms, phones not working, and the list goes on), Stockholm region couldn’t cough up any more money to cover the hospital’s budget deficit this coming year. Three weeks ago, the hospital administration gave notice to 600 doctors and nurses’ aides – this even after it gave notice to 550 administrative positions earlier this spring (SvD.se/Karo).
Today, both Danderyd Hospital and South Hospital (Södersjukhuset) gave notice they’re letting personnel go – 100 jobs at Danderyd (so far undetermined which categories), and 25 doctors, 25 nurses and 25 others at South Hospital.
Göran Stiernstedt, chair of Region Stockholms common board for Danderyd, South and Södertälje hospitals, said the budget deficit is to blame. Cutting staff was the only way to manage the budget, he explained. “I understand if patients are concerned. It is our ultimate goal that care will be affected as little as possible” Stiernstedt wished aloud to SvD. “But there are no guarantees that the personnel retrenchment (åtstramningen) won’t go unnoticed. There is that possibility. It can’t be avoided.”
Left party care spokesperson Jonas Lindberg called it a complete catastrophe. Also the main opposition party in Stockholm, the Social Democrats, took issue: Opposition counsellor Aida Hadzialic (see this post) said that the notices can be a threat to patient safety. “I’m seeing all the warning lights blinking. Care for the sickest patients in Stockholm is threatened. Patient safety is threatened – there’s a wave of notices being given at our hospitals at a time when we know staffing is a problem” (DN.se/Karo).
Even Moderate party Stockholm veteran, responsible for finance, Irene Svenonius called the situation serious – and she’s one of the major players in the issue. “Naturally, it’s a serious situation when a hospital must let people go to manage a budget deficit. And they must redimension their operation in regards to the agreement they have with the health and hospital board” (DN.se/Karo).
(By the way, substitute her “And” for “But” and the sentence makes more sense. This rhetoric trick is making the rounds from schools to businesses.)
Green party Environment and Public Transport counsellor Tomas Eriksson added his voice to the issue, saying he understands if Monday’s announcements cause worry, but: “At the same time, the hospital runs a deficit, and more care is being moved closer to the patient level – it isn’t tenable. The resources need to move as well” (DN.se/Karo).
But back at Kommunal, the largest union in Sweden and the main union for health care workers, managers were angry. Anne-Li Rosengren, a negotiator for Kommunal representation at South Hospital, got word of the notice only in the morning. “It’s been a couple of hours since I heard. At first, I was sad. Now I’m mad as hell (fly förbannad)” (SvD.se/South).
Sweden has one of the highest number of doctors per capita, although this varies a lot by region (see a report here). It also has some of the longest waiting times for surgery, and the fewest number of hospital beds per capita in Europe (see this report).