New figures show that the number of people over 100 in Sweden has increased by almost 50% in ten years. Researchers warn that the boom has a flip side; lack of staff and places in care for the elderly. – Now you actually have to do something about this, says elderly researcher Ingmar Skoog. Anna-Greta Petersson is one of all Swedes who turned one hundred or more this year. She still lives at home and pretty much fends for herself. And she is not interested in a move to a nursing home. – Here at home, I do what I want. I cook the food I like and my children help me with the shopping. It couldn’t be better, says Anna-Greta Petersson, who is not interested in moving to a nursing home. 46 percent increase Just like Anna-Greta, more and more Swedes reach three figures or more. Statistics produced by TV4 Nyheterna show that the number of centenarians increased by 46 percent between 2012 and 2022, which is mainly due to improved living conditions. But it also leads to a major shortage of staff and places in care for the elderly, as the number of people working is getting smaller in relation to the elderly. Problematic, say researchers who now want to see quick measures. – We get more pressure on the healthcare system, because we get more diseases after the age of 80. We will get more pressure on elderly care because more people get dementia and this is in such a short period, so now you actually have to do something about this, says elderly researcher Ingmar Skoog. – So far, nothing has been done. When I started researching this 40 years ago, people were talking about this explosion that would come from the elderly. But so far nothing has been done, he continues. SKR: Employees must work more Sweden’s municipalities and regions, SKR, believe that employees must work more and longer, but also replace staff with new technology such as pharmaceutical robots. – It’s a path we have to take because we can’t conjure up more people. If you can then use automation and technology as a way to provide help and at the same time increase self-determination, that is positive, says Greger Bengtsson, coordinator at SKR. But Anna-Greta still manages on her own and she hopes to experience more birthdays. – Maybe another year, but I don’t take more than one day at a time. See interview with the elderly researcher in the player above.
t4-general
Researchers sound the alarm: Acute shortage of personnel as more and more people turn 100 years old
