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The coronavirus in Sweden
If the government had had better consultations with the Swedish municipalities and regions (SKR) at the beginning of the pandemic, the work would have been more efficient and the municipalities would have been better prepared.
This was stated by the president of SKR, Anders Knape (M), in a hearing on pandemic work in the constitutional committee of the Riksdag (KU).
The government’s preparation requirements for the authorities are not as strong with respect to SKR, which is a partnership organization for the regions of the country.
“Our evaluation is that this opportunity could have been used more, especially at the beginning of the pandemic. If the consultations had been more extensive, they would have had a better basis for decision-making in government and greater efficiency, “said Anders Knape.
KU is reviewing the government and government work on the pandemic, not the authorities, who were invited when the review began on Thursday to provide a basis for future work.
The problems that emerged included, among others, the testing and tracking of infections, the prohibition of visiting nursing homes and the availability of protective equipment.
The situation at the beginning of the pandemic when it came to obtaining protective gear, Anders Knape described as “the wild west.”
“The supply chains were broken, the agreements concluded expired, the containers with prepackaged deliveries were redirected when they went to Sweden because there was someone who paid better. What we have learned is that it is not possible to trust anyone, we have to build our own warehouse, “said Knape.
He was skeptical that the National Board of Health and Welfare would be tasked with purchasing protective equipment. This led the authority to compete with the regions’ own purchases in the same market.
The ambiguities surrounding the March last year restraining order on nursing homes were due, among other things, to uncertainty regarding current legislation and the fact that the authorities, the Swedish Public Health Agency and the Swedish Work Environment Authority transmitted mixed messages to municipalities. Following a request from SKR, the government decided to change the legislation.
Former government testing coordinator Harriet Wallberg was also questioned at KU. He only worked in that position for three weeks tasked with ensuring that testing was scaled up and identifying obstacles.
After a short time, he announced to FHM and the government that the strategy of only testing patients should be changed to protect medical care.
“I came to the conclusion that Sweden should do the same as in other countries and test everyone to fight the spread of the infection. On July 4, Lena Hallengren announced that Sweden had a new strategy, “said Harriet Wallberg, who took some of the credit.
“We lost almost two months. I am convinced that if we had managed to get more extensive evidence earlier and used it in nursing homes and staff in municipal activities, but also in society in general, it would have had an effect,” said Wallberg.
Friday is It is time for the Managing Director of FHM, Johan Carlson, and the former Managing Director of the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB), Dan Eliasson.
