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From: TT
Published:
February 1 | Photograph: Staffan Löwstedt / SvD / TT
More patients with covid are seen in IVA and, once again, planned care must move forward. Stock Photography.
90,000 fewer operations and treatments. This is the result of the first wave of the corona pandemic in Sweden.
As the number of covid patients now dramatically increases in hospitals, several regions are once again canceling planned care.
This week, the Norrbotten region decided to postpone some planned care to deal with the situation.
– We see a greater spread of the infection with a greater need for hospital care, both in ordinary hospital care, as in what we call intermediate care and ultimately also intensive care, says Pia Näsvall, chief physician at the Norrbotten region.
Also in, for example, the Västra Götaland region, the Stockholm region and the Uppsala region, parts of planned care have been canceled, which SR Ekot previously reported on.
In the country’s northernmost county, pressure from coviduct patients has gradually increased in recent weeks and, sadly, no slowdown has been observed so far. It requires a lot of resources.
Intensive personnel care
– Each new case requires a lot of staff for the sake of care. Then we have to use the resources that we have and that affects the usual care, which therefore, unfortunately, we have to slow down, says Pia Näsvall.
Interventions that are postponed are those that for medical reasons are considered safe to wait. Some general examples are inguinal hernia, gallstone problems, and hip and knee changes.
– The fact that it is not considered associated with a risk does not mean, however, that the patient does not have a problem, says Pia Näsvall.
During the first wave of the corona pandemic, specialized care carried out a total of just over 90,000 fewer operations and other treatments within the guarantee of care, according to the National Board of Health and Welfare.
This means that three out of ten operations and other treatments in specialized care were not performed.
– The big concern is that we have more and more queues for attention, says Olivia Wigzell, CEO of the National Board of Health and Welfare, in Ekot’s interview on Saturday.
– What worries me most is that the health of the people who are waiting will deteriorate. The waiting time can affect physical and mental health and social life, he says.
I didn’t have time to graze
There are also more patients who have had to wait longer than the 90-day guarantee of care, especially when it comes to planned operations and treatments.
Most of the patients waited in August in the areas of orthopedics, vision care, and general surgery. In the ear-nose-throat area, almost seven out of ten patients have waited more than 90 days.
By mid-October, operations were largely back to normal. But that doesn’t mean the regions have had time to graze in the queue for care, according to the National Board of Health and Welfare.
Delays before catching up
In the Norrbotten region, the latest scenario from the Swedish Public Health Agency is expected to be correct and there will be a slowdown in the number of covids before Christmas.
– It would allow us to start over carefully, says Pia Näsvall.
TT: How long will it take to graze all the deferred care?
– It is difficult to know how much impact this slowdown will have on the total. But it is clear that it will take time for us to recover. Probably quite a while in the next year and maybe towards the end of next year. But it’s extremely difficult to comment on, says Norrbotten’s chief physician.
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