Region Östergötland announces 900 in healthcare – concern among employees

The M-top that the 900 can be terminated: Could get worse before it gets better

Concern among healthcare workers in Östergötland is great after the announcement of a major alert in the region.

The region already has one of the longest care queues in the country and now the healthcare system has been given the green light to disregard the care guarantee.

– We are walking from the ashes into the fire, says Niklas Theorin, chief physician at Vrinnevis Hospital and chairman of Östergötland’s medical association.

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The news about the big announcement in the Östergötland region came on Wednesday. 900 employees, above all in healthcare, are at risk of being made redundant during the year. The background is that healthcare went backwards by SEK 1.7 billion in 2023.

After the announcement, concern among healthcare professionals in the region is growing.

Östergötland already has among the longest care queues and is also in the bottom tier among the regions in terms of care places per inhabitant.

When 900 employees are to leave, the wait for operations and medical visits risks being even longer.

– The only way to cope with this is if we stop providing certain care to the residents. Everything else is unrealistic. The regional politicians must answer what care it should be, says Niklas Theorin.

A doctor who wishes to remain anonymous asks rhetorically how the region thinks they should prioritize: “Is it hip surgeries, eye surgeries or asthma treatments for children that we should stop?”

Cancer operations were cancelled

The healthcare system in Östgöt is already under pressure. As an example Corren reported in January that cancer patients had to be sent home in connection with a two-day stoppage of operations at the University Hospital in Linköping, caused by a staff shortage.

The notification concerns a number of occupational categories: among others assistant nurses, caregivers in psychiatry and medical-technical staff. Doctors and nurses are exempt. But they will still be affected, according to Niklas Theorin.

– When assistant nurses, administrative staff and other employees disappear, we will have more tasks and less time for patients, he says.

How would you describe what is happening with healthcare in Östergötland now?

– It is the classic expression that we go from the ashes into the fire, says Niklas Theorin.

A month’s wait to the health center

A nurse who works at a health center in Linköping says that you have to wait at least a month for an appointment unless it is something urgent, something she believes is standard at many health centers in the region.

– Now it will get worse, there are no other consequences of this. We can’t work faster, says the nurse.

She says that the mood at the health center is subdued after the region’s announcement. There is concern for the colleagues who risk losing their jobs, but also for the patients.

– We will not be able to provide patient-safe care in all situations, I don’t think so.

In addition to the notice, there is a hiring freeze for hired nurses and hired doctors, a partial hiring freeze when someone quits in the region, and a freeze on substitutes.

The M top: Has mismanaged the economy

According to Marie Morell (M), chairman of the regional board, the economy in health care has been mismanaged for several years and now they are forced to pull on the brakes.

Although inflation and increased costs make the situation worse, it is not the basic problem according to her.

– We have increased the number of employees for five, six years and yet we do not have more accessible care and too few open care places. We don’t have the opportunity to do that anymore, she says.

Morell says that the healthcare system was hit hard by the pandemic and that it has not recovered since then. Like many other regions, they received government subsidies and invested, among other things, in hiring more people. But nurses have been lost and assistant nurses have been hired instead, which has not solved the care queues.

According to M-toppen, it is not a question of a temporary steel bath, but a new normal situation. The savings will not go unnoticed.

– It will have an impact. It may rather get worse before it gets better, says Marie Morell.

No requirement for care guarantee

Politicians have approved that the healthcare system is “departing from its mission”. This can translate into not necessarily being expected to keep the statutory care guarantee.

– It may be that you do not receive care within a certain time. We actually have requirements for care guarantees and so on. Now it hasn’t been held anyway.

So you have temporarily decided that the care guarantee does not have to apply?

– The Health and Medical Care Board has taken a decision to give the director of health and medical care a mandate to deviate from the duties that apply. But it must be reported.

Do you feel secure that the residents of Östergötland will receive safe care in the future?

– I feel safe. Patient safety is what we must put first. At the same time, we have said that we have to be honest with the patients and say that they may have to wait longer for certain ailments, says Marie Morell, but does not want to go into more detail about what the priorities should look like.

Exactly which businesses the 900 employees will be taken from is still unclear, but during the fall the region expects that they will have been made redundant.