Despite goals to reduce hired personnel in care, TV4 Nyhetern’s mapping shows that twelve regions are heading for higher costs this year.
In Norrbotten, the bill is expected to rise as much as SEK 200 million.
– It is actually a rampant cost increase, says Jan Öström, director of finance at Region Norrbotten.
Lack of staff, more expensive staffing solutions and a healthcare debt after the pandemic are, according to the regions, some of the main reasons for the increasing costs.
In Norrbotten, the increase compared to last year is expected to be around SEK 200 million.
– It is actually a rampant cost increase. If you compare with 2022, we expect an increase of around 30-40 percent, says Jan Öström, financial director for the Norrbotten region.
Stockholm reduces the cost
One region that is going against the tide is Stockholm, where rental costs have been reduced by a third, among other things thanks to a regional framework agreement with staffing companies.
They hope that the ongoing procurement of similar national framework agreements will help the regions to slow down the rampant costs.
– Our framework agreement that we have here in the Stockholm region is on par with the proposed agreement, but I think it is more about actually reducing the shares and using it as a supplement, says Ulrika Sundqvist, HR director in the Stockholm region.
The nurse’s medicine: higher pay and better schedule
Nurse Christopher Björkman is one of many healthcare workers who resigned from the regions to work as a hired nurse from a staffing company. He mainly works in psychiatry at various places in southern Sweden. And the reasons were simple:
– 30,000-40,000 more can be a monthly salary and the staffing company can offer accommodation and commuting opportunities, he says.
He believes that the regions must invest in getting more employees to stay.
– Adjust the schedule, maybe change evening trips to morning trips, but above all it is to raise wages. It would have made me start working as a permanent employee again, says Christopher Björkman.