Bianca Salming is now directing strong criticism at Swedish healthcare.
She believes that the family did not trust the medical staff when father Börje was being treated for ALS.
– We didn’t trust that the healthcare workers had sufficient control over him, says Bianca in Sommar in P1.
It was in November that the tragic news of Börje Salming’s death reached the Swedish people. Salming is one of Swedish hockey’s absolute greatest, with over 1,000 games in the NHL and a place in the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Great criticism of healthcare
Salming was a pioneer not only for Swedish, but also European players, and he paved the way for so many with his way of being in North America. Salming won the hearts of the Toronto crowd, and was always a celebrated hero. Therefore, the news that he had suffered from the nerve disease came as a shock to the entire hockey world.
During the autumn, Salming quickly got worse, and shortly after being praised both by the Toronto audience, and during the Hockey of the Times in Sweden, he passed away, aged 71. During the autumn, the family was partly strongly critical of the Swedish care, as Salming was initially given no personal assistant, but only home care that came at certain times during the day. Instead, Pia and Börje’s children had to be helped to make everything work.
– We are completely exhausted, the whole family. We have done just about everything, and he is only getting worse, said Pia in a heartbreaking interview with Expressen in October.
READ MORE: Bianca Salming’s big disappointment after the decisive decision – now opens up about the frustration
Bianca’s strong words
During Tuesday, Bianca Salming’s Summer is broadcast in P1, where she talks openly about father Börje’s last time in life. And she, too, is now sharply criticizing Swedish healthcare, and how the family did not trust the healthcare providers.
– All of us in the family take turns – we needed to be there all the time. We didn’t trust that the medical staff had sufficient control over him, says Bianca.
Bianca Salming continues:
– Dad himself, in his illness, has to take responsibility for things he shouldn’t be responsible for. We take turns sleeping with him in the hospital. It’s terrible, but it doesn’t matter.
At the beginning of November, Salmings was informed that they had been granted improved care at home, when ASIH (advanced medical care in the home) took over the care.
READ MORE: Bianca Salming’s new, decisive decision – which could open a completely new career: “Let’s see how it goes”