Susanne Karsk from Linköping already had to undergo eye surgery as a child due to growths on the cornea in her right eye. Without moistening the eye, she can go blind, she believes.
– When I wake up in the morning, I basically can’t see, I have to find my way into the kitchen with my hands and then drip drops of serum into my eyes so that I can open them, says Susanne Karsk to TV4 Nyheterna.
The serum drops have been an effective treatment for Susanne for four years. If she uses it, she will be symptom-free. By providing a blood sample, a lab can make these drops from proteins in her own blood plasma.
– It was an aha experience, because I got an effect and a relief from the drops the first time I took them, she says.
Holiday closed
The last time Susanne gave blood was in December. After six months, in mid-June, she awaited another sampling call to get new drops before hers ran out.
Instead, she was told that the lab has closed for the holidays. Which means she will be without the drops for about four weeks.
– It’s so bad that it doesn’t exist. When they have promised that this will not happen and that I will be contacted in good time every time. It’s like a kick in the stomach, says Susanne.
In an information letter that TV4 Nyheterna has seen, Region Östergötland writes how the procedure should go: “You will be contacted before the next sampling when you have about four bottles left or when the expiration date is approaching. This is so that serum drops can be manufactured in good time.”
Manufactured 16 miles away
The serum drops used to be manufactured in the immunologist’s lab at the University Hospital in Linköping, where Susanne herself is a patient. But after an inspection by the Inspectorate for Care and Care (IVO), the lab in Linköping closed down. Instead, Region Östergötland began collaborating with Region Örebro län, and Susanne’s important medicine is now manufactured in Karlskoga – 16 miles away.
For her, and about thirty other patients, it means a shift. Susanne has now received an over-the-counter cream that will relieve the symptoms. But it doesn’t.
– There will only be more fluid in the eyes that shouldn’t be there, that doesn’t feel good and that doesn’t help in any way, says Susanne.
The eye clinic: Received information about delays
Pierfrancesco Mirabelli, deputy director of operations at Ögonkliniken Region Östergötland, believes that there is an annual plan for all patients that takes into account summer and holiday closures. But that there are always things that don’t add up to the letter. He also denies that it is about 30 patients.
– I have received information that there are some delays this year, yes, all patients that apply have been taken care of with alternative treatments, says Pierfrancesco Mirabelli.