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In its first report, the Crown Commission looks at a number of different deficiencies in the care of the elderly in Sweden, deficiencies believed to have contributed to high death rates.
At the same time, the Commission believes that the most important explanation has been the widespread spread of the infection in society. However, how it could become so extensive, the Commission does not examine in more detail in this report. It will come in later reviews.
Criticism of how elderly care works in Sweden is ruthless. It’s about everything from unclear responsibilities to an unsustainable staffing situation.
There were no preparations to deal with a pandemic and once it did, the shortcomings were exposed.
Criticism of the government
Basically, these are difficulties in coordinating an activity in which 290 municipalities and 21 regions are responsible, where the actors are many, several of which are private, and where the activity is characterized by low staffing and lack of competition.
At the national level, there was also a lack of a national overview of the preparation of municipalities.
Ultimately, the government is responsible, says the commission. Neither this government nor the previous ones have tried to remedy the problems, despite being aware of them.
The Commission also criticizes the current government for insufficient or late implementation of the measures adopted last spring. This includes the introduction of a national restraining order on the care of the elderly. That should have happened earlier, says the Commission. This criticism is much more difficult for the Löfven government to defend because it is directed at what the government did or did not do during the crisis. Expect the opposition to choose to focus its criticism, especially here.
Authorities are criticized
But the authorities are not without criticism either. Both the Swedish Public Health Agency and the National Board of Health and Welfare receive harsh criticism for their priorities and actions during the crisis.
This first interim report from the Crown Commission examines how caring for the elderly and caring for the elderly has handled the pandemic. This is an important report. From the beginning, both the government and the authorities identified the protection of the elderly as the most important objective of the Swedish krone strategy. In that case, the strategy has been a failure. The Commission clearly states that “the strategy to protect the elderly has failed”.
Used by the opposition
The commission’s report will be widely used by the opposition and other critics of the government’s corona strategy. At the same time, it may be more difficult for the government for the Commission to examine the great course of the crisis, that is, why the spread of the infection has become so extensive in Sweden. It is also the main explanation for the high mortality rates. But here we will also examine the actions of the 21 regions, which the government can use politically as a counter argument since many of them are governed by bourgeois coalitions.
For the rest, the government is pressured by the debate on the management of the crown. It was also noticed on Tuesday. Even before the Crown Commission presented its findings, Social Affairs Minister Lena Hallengren announced new policy initiatives to improve Swedish care for the elderly.
