Criticizes cutting at Sollefteå Hospital • Several operations are closed down in the region’s proposal
The Minister of Health is critical of the proposal to close down parts of Sollefteå hospital.
She thinks the region should reconsider the plans.
– I think you need to take a change in Västernorrland and secure that Sollefteå has good and patient -safe care, says Minister of Health Acko Ankarberg Johansson (KD).
Region Västernorrland is currently reviewing the organization around the three hospitals in the county. The proposal that has been developed means, among other things, that several operations at Sollefteå Hospital are closed down, including anesthesia and intensive care at the emergency room. Larger operations should instead be done at the hospitals in Sundsvall and Örnsköldsvik. In total, the region expects to save between SEK 46 and SEK 59 million if the change is implemented.
“The care underfunded by the state”
Regional Council Sara Nylund (S) states that she believes that care is underfunded by the state. In an interview with TV4, Health Minister Acko Ankarberg Johansson (KD) criticizes the reasoning and believes that the hospital in Sollefteå is important.
– It is necessary for a hospital to have anesthesia, emergency care and the trauma care needed. This applies both to passing regular operations, but also childbirth. You can see that it is quite common to move one function after another and in the end the hospital does not work, says Acko Ankarberg Johansson (KD).
The region is firm
The chairman of the regional board, in turn, replies that the region does not plan the turnover on the issue that the Minister of Health is looking for.
– We have our area of responsibility and we are moving on with our investigation which will be presented as a proposal for us at the council here in March, says Sara Nylund (S). Risks to patient safety
Risks to patient safety
Kalla facts have reviewed the hospital plans in the series Local Scandals and showed a number of errors in the EY consultancy report on which the proposal is based. In the continued review, Kalla facts have also taken part in internal documents that point to serious risks to patients’ safety if the proposal becomes a reality.
A total of 13 major risks are identified by a special group set up by the region, where one of the main fears is that patients and even children can die due to lack of care resources. In several cases, healthcare professionals stated that there were no measures to counteract the risks.
Re -evaluated risks
Later, other staff have entered and re -evaluated these risks without dialogue with the group of physicians and specialist nurses who did the first analysis. The region thus considers that the risks are not as acute as the group has presented, with the motivation that the events rarely occur.
“I expect us to have a professional organization that highlights the whole of this investigation and that the documents that form the basis for the proposal are included in the documentation,” said Sara Nylund (S) the day before the investigation was presented.
Local scandals
Local scandals are a series in 6 sections where Cold Facts digs into local news revelations that shook places around Sweden.