Difficult economic times dig deep holes in the healthcare wallet. At Sweden’s largest hospital, the numbers glow red as the year draws to a close.
Skåne University Hospital predicts a deficit of 1.7 billion.
The Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Gothenburg is expecting just over SEK 1.2 billion.
The academic hospital in Uppsala, which has been in the red for several years, is expected to lose SEK 870 million in 2023. Rampant inflation and more people seeking care after the pandemic are some of the reasons for the gloomy forecast.
— We have not received compensation for that in the budget, our grants from the region, says Ylva Opard, finance director at the University Hospital.
Costs add up quickly
The minus numbers mean that Akademiska needs to reduce its rental staff, among other things. This, in turn, means that the hospital is forced to cancel operations.
Deficit forecast for the largest hospitals in Sweden in 2023.
Karolinska University Hospital is the only one of the large hospitals to have given notice – 450 managerial and administrative positions are to disappear. Other hospitals currently have no plans to lay off staff. The operations must instead be “made more efficient” in various ways – the hired staff must be reduced, costs for materials and medicines must be reduced and administrative expenses must be reviewed.
— Costs in inpatient care have increased rapidly for many years, says Annika Wallenskog, chief economist at Sweden’s Municipalities and Regions (SKR).
But “making more efficient” and “reorganizing” will not be enough to get the hospitals’ finances back on their feet, believes Annika Wallenskog. Healthcare needs more resources in the coming years, not least when the burden of care is expected to increase as the proportion of elderly people in the country increases.
— It is not enough to do all this. There will be a deficit for a few years and the problem is that we see that it will be difficult for the healthcare system to get its finances together going forward.
Tougher next year
For Akademiska, the financial situation is currently very strained and 2024 is expected to be even tougher, according to Ylva Opard.
“It doesn’t look any better next year,” she says, adding:
— Despite the fact that we have quite a few measures, we will not have a balanced economy next year. We will not be there in 2024 nor in 2025. Hopefully things will look better in 2026, she says.