Patients at Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Gothenburg are hit hard by cutbacks and savings in care – even deaths have reportedly occurred due to staff shortages, reports GP
It appears from reports that were handed over to hospital director Boubou Hallberg.
– This is testimony from the care floor, which tells what the consequences of the cuts really are, says Hanna Kataoka, chief physician at Sahlgrenska to the newspaper.
The medical association at Sahlgrenska University Hospital on Tuesday submitted a report containing 80 “red flags” from doctors to the hospital management, which draw attention to risks for both the work environment and patient safety. The doctors’ reports warn of serious deficiencies on the care floor as a result of savings and cutbacks in care.
– We feel a responsibility to tell the residents about this and we also take a responsibility to tell the hospital director and the political board that this is the care you are creating, says Hanna Kataoka, chief physician at Sahlgrenska and president of the Medical Association at the hospital, to GP.
– You have to be able to look the patients in the eyes and that also applies to those who manage the healthcare.
“Some deaths”
Among the report are testimonies about everything from missed diagnoses and medical injuries. Shortcomings have been reported both in the gynecological department, the emergency department and in psychiatry. In the hospital’s gastroenterology unit, “some deaths” have also occurred which are supposed to be related to insufficient investigations regarding liver diseases, the newspaper writes.
– This is testimony from the care floor, which tells what the real consequences of the cuts are. It’s everything from less serious deterioration to very serious consequences for the work environment and patient safety, says Hanna Kataoka.
“Welcomes the commitment”
Hospital director Boubou Hallberg writes in a written comment to the newspaper that he “welcomes the commitment to patient safety and work environment. Regardless of the role we have at the hospital, safe care is everyone’s responsibility and together we also need to contribute to a culture where the desire to do right for patients is most important – not the fear of doing wrong.”
He also writes that management “will follow up on the risks we identified in the work with balanced finances, and also the red flags we received from the Medical Association today”.