[ad_1]
Covid-19 continues to make a huge difference in healthcare and care. Sick leave rates are still higher than normal, Expressen’s tour of Stockholm hospitals shows.
According to figures from the Swedish Workplace Environment Authority, 4,728 people in health and care, the majority of auxiliary nurses, care assistants and nurses, have reported being injured at work in connection with the pandemic.
Many have become infected themselves. In Stockholm, a nurse and two doctors died from covid-19. One in five people at Södersjukhuset in Stockholm, 18 percent, had antibodies to the virus, according to a new study. Those who worked with the infected were overrepresented.
– Many have become ill. Lack of equipment is one of the reasons, especially at the beginning. Our cleaning lady arrived without protective equipment at a ward where we take care of the infected. She was terrified, but she got equipment from us, says Jens Odsvall.
“Right now there is a shortage of aprons and mouth guards”
Expressen’s tour of seven hospitals in Stockholm County shows that they all have more people on sick leave than usual. Many were ill earlier this year, but the number of cases is still higher than normal.
Jens Odsvall, who is in charge of feeding at a ward, fell ill with corona symptoms this spring.
– We work with infected patient products. I don’t know if I caught it at work but it is possible. Now we will have protective gear. But right now there is a shortage of aprons and mouth guards, so it will be difficult until there is access.
Jens Odsvall still has persistent symptoms, extreme fatigue similar to ME.
– I’ve had to be on sick leave for a few days now and then and then go back to work. No one is particularly new and the workload remains high. My ward is full and overcrowded, we have had patients lying in the day ward, she says.
Exceptionally difficult spring and summer in Södersjukhuset
The seven large hospitals in the Stockholm region have more people on sick leave than usual. It shows the Expressen roundabout.
– Summer is always hard in care, even in normal cases. Now it has been an exceptional spring and summer with an extremely difficult load in which all resources have been focused on caring for covid, says Helena Karlsson, director of human resources at Södersjukhuset.
In Södersjukhuset, the average sick leave between January and August this year was 17 days employed, compared to 11 days in the same period last year. Human resources director Helena Karlsson says sick leave has risen across all occupational groups, especially short-term leave.
– Not surprisingly, there are many who were ill in society in general and with quite harsh restrictions.
Södersjukhuset staff have access to crisis and conversation support.
– We have received signals that our employees are tired. But we do evaluations to see how staff feel and offer support, he says.
Now the health system must also pay off the debt of care. More than 150,000 Swedes are waiting for surgery, even more need to visit doctors and get tests. There is still a shortage of staff, especially surgical nurses. Karolinska, for example, must hire an operational team.
“Extremely a kind of war medical care”
Sineva Ribeiro, president of the Swedish Health Association, believes that the pandemic could have repercussions for a long time. Disease rates among healthcare professionals were high even earlier. During the pandemic, they have increased significantly and are still more than normal.
– It was extreme, a kind of war medical care. People are exhausted. We get signs that many, especially young people in the profession, are not feeling so good, he says.
Health care made a big change during the pandemic. Many were quickly trained to work with corona patients, for example in the intensive care unit.
– And without being used to dealing with so many seriously ill or so many deaths, says Sineva Ribeiro.
Norrtälje Hospital is closed due to vacancies
Most of the people who wanted a four-week vacation, according to Expressen’s tour of seven major Stockholm hospitals. However, health workers who have postponed holidays have been able to receive extra money.
At Capio St. Göran’s, they respond that “we worked hard so that the staff could also take four weeks off this year, and overall we succeeded.”
The hospital has had a higher proportion of sick leave in the spring, but is now beginning to approach previous levels. The number of employees who have left has decreased compared to previous years.
Capio St. Göran Hospital has 12 places of care closed due to fewer emergency patients.
Norrtälje Hospital, Vårdbolaget Tiohundra, responds that the increase in sick leave is related to “infection control regulations that apply for much of the year”.
About 40 people have quit smoking, significantly fewer than last year. Everyone who wanted got 4 weeks of vacation.
16 care places are closed, partly due to vacancies. The hospital is said to have had time to operate and treat “a significant proportion” of the patients as expected.
Furthermore, they have sometimes been forced to work without protective equipment or with inadequate protective equipment. Almost 1,400 nurses reported work-related injuries due to the pandemic. Sineva Ribeiro takes X-ray nurses as an example.
– Computed tomography is often performed in patients with a crown. Initially, the X-ray nurses worked without protection and were exposed to many infections.
Mental illnesses in particular, such as fatigue and post-traumatic stress disorder, have increased. Some people have panic attacks when they have to wear protective equipment, such as a face mask.
– The reaction may come later, when you have rested a bit. It is important for the employer to ensure that there are support resources, knowledge and that the nurses have a sufficient number of colleagues.
Johan Styrud, president of the Stockholm Medical Association, says there has been heavy pressure on everyone who works.
– It has been terribly tense and your recovery average good. Now we have to start working on all the operations and visits that have not been carried out. In principle, we have not had any planned care since the beginning of March.
Some of those who have been on the front line quit or change jobs. At the Karolinska University Hospital, 100 doctors have left.
– It is the next generation of younger doctors, who often worked as surrogates. People we want to retain and train, says Johan Styrud.
Karolinska must hire an operational team
When Expressen calls seven hospitals in Stockholm, they respond that staff turnover among permanently employed staff is lower than normal or unaffected. This does not include substitutes or hourly employees leaving.
At Karolinska University Hospital in Huddinge and Solna, 711 permanent employees have left this year, compared to 860 last year.
The sick leave is slightly higher than in previous years, but “clearly down to more normal levels”. 5.19 percent in August this year compared to 4.89 percent in the same period in 2019.
Slightly fewer four weeks off have been taken this year compared to 2019.
Some hospitals need to hire more staff than usual. Operations queues at Karolinska have increased by 18 percent and the university hospital has hired various operational teams. So far, Karolinska has paid 10 percent of the debt for care.
Sineva Ribeiro says they are getting signals from various parts of the country that nurses are quitting, including in Jönköping, Uppsala and Västerbotten.
In the Jämtland Härjedalen region, 140 nurses have resigned, for example from surgery and intensive care. The reason is dissatisfaction with the work environment and the deterioration of working hours.
– They have struggled with 12.5 hour shifts and an 80 hour work week during the spring and summer. There is a disappointment that the employer does not appreciate with salary and better working conditions.
More sick leave in September at Danderyd Hospital
At Danderyd Hospital, sick leave increased slightly in September compared to previous years. The reason is claimed to be the Public Health Agency guidelines on staying home for symptoms.
278 people have quit smoking since the pandemic broke out, slightly fewer than last year when 288 quit.
All received four weeks of summer vacation except 26 people in gynecology who received three weeks.
Right now, a department has a temporary reduction in care positions related to the training and introduction of new nurses.
The staffing situation is better now, the hospital has been able to reduce the hiring staff.
Södertälje Hospital
Many were on sick leave in April. Sick leave has gradually fallen to more normal levels.
Those who wanted had four weeks of vacation. 12 percent have stopped smoking since the beginning of the year “which is not an abnormal figure.”
There is a plan for advanced care, operations, and reception visits. The most urgent patients get time first. “We don’t see any problems at this time in keeping up with the care that should always be possible, such as cancer diagnosis, cancer operations and maternity care.”
Sources: Questions have been sent to the press department of the hospitals. Often times, it is the hospital staff managers and / or chief physicians who have responded to them.
Advice from the region and the state epidemiologist.
