Mellin: No one will have to resign for misconduct in elder care during the pandemic



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But no one will have to resign because so many elderly people died in the covid

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Above all, this government, but also in the past, is receiving devastating criticism from the Crown Commission.

Unclear responsibility for the care of the elderly exacerbated the spread of infection to the very elderly and frail. Decisions during the pandemic were too weak and too late.

But despite this, no one will be responsible.

It can be said that the press conference on the first report of the Crown Commission began symptomatically. Namely, with the fact that the Minister of Social Affairs, Lena Hallgren (s), said what the government intends to do in relation to the report, including the investigation of a new law on care for the elderly.

This is called harm minimization.. Or at least an attempt, to soften the criticism.

The impression faded, however, when the President of the Commission, former CEO Mats Melin, drew the Commission’s conclusions on the accident in the care of the elderly and sick during the cornapandem.

“The government rules the kingdom,” Melin said. form of government, one of the constitutions. Thus, it became clear that he is the main responsible for the irregularities, according to the Commission. But neither have previous governments taken care of themselves.

Nine out of ten of those who died from covid-19 in Sweden are 70 years or older. Almost 75 per cent of them have lived in special homes for the elderly or received home care and perhaps home health care as well.

They are appalling numbers. Especially with since the Swedish strategy was to protect the oldest and most fragile. It failed miserably.

One explanation is the unclear responsibility of caring for the elderly. The government, as well as central authorities such as the Swedish Public Health Agency and the National Board of Health and Welfare, have an overall responsibility.

The regions, 21 in total, are responsible for medical treatment. 290 municipalities and a number of private contractors take care of the rest. According to the motto “the more you cook, the worse the soup”, it works quite poorly even under normal conditions. When the crown came, it was devastating.

Another explanation is the staff where the status should be raised, according to the Commission. It also usually means higher wages, which should be possible to fix in a mainly politically controlled sector.

Nine out of ten of those who died from covid-19 in Sweden are 70 years or older.

Photo: Janerik Henriksson / TT

Nine out of ten of those who died from covid-19 in Sweden are 70 years or older.

The staff is not a problem for them lacks ambition, because most people probably have it. But because your work situation is simply quite difficult to master, if not impossible.

Four in ten lack training as a nursing assistant, the largest group of staff in geriatric care. A quarter are hourly employees. They’re very few.

Even so, they are expected to take it with difficulty, vital decisions without sufficient support. In many homes, medically responsible nurses are only available during office hours, that is, about a third of the hours of the day. Doctors who could strengthen the medical part of geriatric care may, for some strange reason, not be employed by municipalities.

To this can be added specific problems of the crown, such as the lack of protective equipment that was noticed too late. And that there were various directives on what would be used from the Swedish Public Health Agency and the Swedish Work Environment Authority. In the confusion, the chief safety representative introduced a series of so-called safety stops, which were of course not optimal either.

The Commission also states that a nursing home restraining order that the government introduced on April 1 and didn’t lift until six months later was bad (and probably illegal too, but Mats Melin didn’t say so). Partly because such a prohibition strongly restricts fundamental rights and freedoms that apply to everyone, including the elderly. But also because it probably had a negative effect on the health of the elderly. They got sad and worried. It is very good that it is pointed out again.

A short summary of the Commission’s devastating criticism would look like this. The responsibility for the care of the elderly is so unclear that no one really assumes it, but the government has the overall responsibility. No government has done enough to dispel the fog. Staff are poorly trained and have low status and attractiveness. There are very few employees, including nurses and doctors.

But despite that, no one will be forced to take political responsibility, resign, for misconduct. Because there are so many involved, from municipalities, regions to the government, and of course also the Riksdag, and various government agencies, no one feels particularly affected. It’s a mess in the kitchen.

The spray soaks everyone a bit, but no one gets wet in the sea. Therefore, Lena Hallengren’s “attack is the best defense” strategy will be successful. Maybe get some criticism from KU. But who cares?

The great scandal is that irregularities have been going on for so long with nothing really being done. Only now, when everything was turned upside down by the crown, could something happen. Hopefully.

The Crown Commission was appointed earlier this year by the government to shed light on how the Swedish authorities have handled the crown pandemic and what lessons can be learned for the future. They will publish several reports, of which the one on care for the elderly is the first. The theme will be repeated in later reports.

Formerly, Ivo, Health Inspectorate and care, sawed the medical care of the elderly, for which the regions are responsible, along with the ankles. Not even ten percent of nursing home residents who became ill with COVID-19 received a physical visit from a doctor.


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Of: Lena Mellin

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