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Sweden’s Minister for Social Affairs Lena Hallengren believes the pandemic has revealed weaknesses in the care of the elderly in Sweden. But she denies that Sweden failed her elders.
Lena Hallengren says that what happened in the pandemic has made it clear that care for the elderly must be improved. Photograph: Magnus Hjalmarson Neideman / Svenska Dagbladet
On Saturday, Aftenposten wrote about the many deaths in Swedish nursing homes during the corona pandemic. The weakest must protect themselves from the virus. Many family members now ask why their loved ones died in a nursing home.
There is no “complete” explanation for why Sweden and other countries have been so affected, Hallenberg writes to Aftenposten.
The Minister of Social Affairs points out that even the neighboring countries of Europe have been affected differently, despite having taken similar measures.
– But this spring we had a clearly greater spread of the infection than we had in Norway. The pandemic has highlighted the challenges and problems in caring for the elderly, he writes in an email.
She says the investigations now being carried out by the Swedish Health Inspectorate and the Crown Commission are important.
– For me, as Minister of Social Affairs, it is important that we now learn from what has happened to strengthen the care of the Swedish elderly, Hallengren writes in an email.
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Completely unacceptable
Sweden has had many more deaths per crown than neighboring countries. Almost half, 2,746, have taken place in Swedish homes for the elderly, ‘separate dwellings’. This is where the weakest elderly live. Authorities have acknowledged that they were unable to protect the elderly sufficiently. Now explanations are sought.
As Aftenposten has written, several family members are asking for answers on whether their father or mother have received the treatment they were supposed to receive.
– Investigations in the Swedish press show that many older people were never offered active treatment for COVID-19, for example in the form of oxygen, and were not allowed to see a doctor physically, instead being left for a Palliative treatment. How do you look at it? Were the guidelines good enough?
– Cases in which the elderly did not receive an individual assessment of their care needs are completely unacceptable. This is something our inspection authority is looking at now and will investigate each case, he writes.
Promises to invest in caring for the elderly
Hallengren says she wants changes in the care of the elderly. It promises a historic investment in elderly care in next year’s budget to provide more permanent employees and more training as nursing assistants.
– I have long believed that we must make a leap in quality, that we must strengthen care for the elderly. What happened during the pandemic has reinforced my conviction.
– What do you say to those who say that Sweden failed their elders?
– I’d say they’re completely wrong. From the first day of this pandemic, the government has focused on the elderly simply because we knew they were the group that would be most affected if they became infected, he writes.
