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Outwardly, it sounded like an exceptional agreement that the Minister of Commerce and Industry, Ibrahim Baylan, S, presented at a press conference in Rosenbad on April 8 this year.
Essity had restructured its production and could now deliver mouth guards that would be sent to Swedish medical care through the National Board of Health and Welfare, the minister said.
– They will be able to deliver two million masks to the Swedish health system that maintain the exact quality that allows the National Board of Health and Welfare to buy them, Baylan said during the press conference, where he was flanked by Essity CEO Magnus Groth and Pia Sandvik, CEO of the Rise state research institute. , I would try mouth guards.
The initiative was widely praised.
“Essity is retiring for health care”Dagens industri wrote in the April 9 print edition. Swedish radio Ekot reported on April 8 that Essity will deliver two million masks to Swedish healthcare. The Direkt news agency, which writes about and for the financial market, reported that Essity has started production of approved surgical masks.
And in a column with the headline “Others turn to God, we cry out for the state” Aftonbladet’s Deputy Chief Editor, also a columnist Lena Mellin, stated that Ibrahim Baylan had been a “middleman in the deal” between the National Board of Health and Welfare, the state research institute Rise and Essity.
“The state had intervened when the market could not cope with the task”, Mellin wrote.
But the reality was completely different.
Essity’s mouth guard was not necessary
Expressen has reviewed hundreds of emails sent to and from the National Board of Health and Welfare, and can now reveal that the image transmitted by the Minister of Commerce and Industry together with the Essity company was not correct.
At the press conference in Rosenbad, the very seat of government, Essity CEO Magnus Groth said the following:
“We can begin to comply with an agreement that we are finalizing with the National Board of Health and Welfare.”
mens The National Board of Health and Welfare did not need mouth protection. of the IIR variety offered by Essity. The need has already been met through agreements between the National Board of Health and Welfare and the FMV provider, as well as through the National Health and Welfare Board and the provider of the Armed Forces.
In several emails, buyers from the National Board of Health and Welfare write that the need for this type of oral protection is doubtful:
“… we have some of these masks, so buying more from us is questionable”Erik Magnusson, Senior Advisor to the National Board of Health and Welfare, wrote to Anja Clausin on FMV on April 18, ten days after the press conference.
“We are a little undecided about the need” He writes five days later, on April 23.
On April 24, the National Board of Health and Welfare decided not to purchase mouthguards from Essity and instead refers the company to the regions where the discussion is taking place.
“The National Board of Health and Social Welfare is very grateful for your donation”says in an email where FMV, who acted as purchasing support, and the National Board of Health and Welfare thought about what formulations they would send Essity when they rejected mouth guards.
FMV, which assisted the National Board of Health and Wellness with purchases, in consultation with the National Board of Health and Wellness, would say no to Essity’s mouthguard:
“FMV will not proceed with an agreement at this time,” further stated in the email between FMV and the National Board of Health and Welfare.
FMV also expressed doubts about whether mouth guards were what the National Board of Health and Welfare needed. The mouthguards that Essity makes should not be used in patients with covid-19, according to FMV, according to an email conversation: “Type IIR is not approved for the treatment of patients with Covid-19, but it is the FFP masks that are applied in close nursing situations”wrote a FMV purchasing manager to the National Board of Health and Welfare.
At the time of the press conference, April 8, Essity mouthguards were not fully tested and approved by Rise.
“Parallel microbiological culture tests are not yet fully completed”writes Karl Stoltz, Essity’s press director.
Today, mouth guards, Essity’s IIR liquid repellent protection class, are approved. But according to the National Board of Health and Wellness, this type of mouth guard should only be used in combination with a visor.
Complaints that mouth guards weren’t up to scratch
When Essity’s mouth guard was delivered, various complaints that the protections were not up to the task.
“Since then, we have received information from some regions that they do not perceive the fit as optimal, etc.”Erik Magnusson of the National Board of Health and Welfare wrote in an email to Expressen.
The risk of a poor fit is that the masks do not provide adequate protection.
Essity donated one million mouth guards to the National Board of Health and Welfare, “the first million,” as the CEO of Essity called it at a press conference with Ibrahim Baylan. The company wanted to sign an agreement in which they would simultaneously sell another two million, but the National Board of Health and Welfare declined, according to an email conversation between the National Board of Health and Welfare and FMV:
“We cannot say no to the gift. You agree to separate this from the possible purchase of additional skins“, Erik Magnusson writes in the National Board of Health and Welfare to FMV on April 18.
A month after the press conference, the National Board of Health and Welfare signed an agreement with Essity in May. The endoscope eventually became three million mouth guards. One million free and two million paid by the National Board of Health and Welfare, a total of 3.5 million Swedish crowns.
The reason the National Board of Health and Welfare made the purchase nonetheless, it is stated that they must have a warehouse if regions need this simpler type of oral protection:
“… We had several similar mouth guards on the way, so if the regions themselves made purchases, we judged the need to be doubtful, but since the regions could not make any coordinated purchases at that time, we decided to do it to distribute to the regions and municipalities if necessary.writes Erik Magnusson of the National Board of Health and Welfare to Expressen.
But the need has been extremely rare.
Until September 11 of this year, only 13% (399,800 mouth guards) had been requested from the warehouse of the National Board of Health and Welfare.
Of the gift of one million mouth guards, 600,000 remain, as well as the two million mouth guards that were purchased, a total of 2.6 million mouth guards.
The purchasing manager of the National Board of Health and Welfare, Erik Magnusson, denies that they felt pressured by the government to reach an agreement with Essity.
“No, we haven’t felt pressured to sign an agreement with Essity “, writes to the Expressen reporter on September 8.
Ministers cannot favor special companies
At the press conference, Ibrahim Baylan did not explicitly order the National Board of Health and Welfare to purchase the Essity mouth guards.
The form of government, a constitution, however, says that the government must be impartial in its actions. We must “consider the equality of all before the law and observe objectivity and impartiality,” says the constitution.
Therefore, Baylan’s actions may be an undue advantage for a business company, according to Joakim Nergelius, professor of law at the University of Örebro:
“Ministers should not have commercial interests, nor can they favor certain companies over others,” says Nergelius.
It is the constitutional committee of the Riksdag, KU, in charge of examining whether a minister in his statements violates the form of government.
Baylan: Important to highlight opportunities
Despite the fact that the National Board of Health and Welfare did not need Essity’s mouth protection, Ibrahim Baylan’s press secretary Sara Khatemi refers to the high demand for protective gear this spring:
“As you know, there was a great demand for protective equipment for health care during the spring, not only in Sweden but also globally.”
Ibrahim Baylan chooses not to answer Expressen’s question about why he held a press conference with Essity on oral protection that the National Board of Health and Welfare did not need.
“Questions about the National Board of Health and Welfare evaluations should be asked of the authority”writes Baylan’s press secretary Sara Khatemi.
