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The day before Christmas, the three regions of Stockholm, Gävleborg and Västra Götaland chose to request that their crisis care arrangements for intensive care be activated. The request was dealt with by the relevant decision-making body, Swedish municipalities and regions (SKR), and the agreement entered into force on Wednesday evening.
The decision was made without storage for Danderyd Hospital care staff, among others.
– I discovered it myself through you on Expressen. It’s no fun reading it on the news the day before Christmas, says intensive care nurse Niklas Olofsson.
Niklas Olofsson, Danderyd Hospital intensive care nurse.
Photo: Private
I don’t want money, I want family time
The crisis agreement means that the employer, in this case the hospitals, can order emergency overtime and distribute the work hours without taking into account the Working Hours Law. The advantage for care personnel is that, in addition to salary, they receive crisis compensation corresponding to 120 percent of hourly wage.
This is how the crisis agreement works
• The Labor Hours Law does not apply.
• The regular workweek will be 48 hours. The employer can, if necessary, call staff for emergency overtime in addition to that.
• The lunch break can be changed to lunch breaks.
• The employer may make exceptions to daily and weekly rest, as established by the Working Hours Law.
• Crisis compensation of 120 percent of hourly wage is paid for each hour worked.
• In the event of emergency overtime, the crisis compensation is 150 percent.
• Staff cannot say no when called.
Source: SKR and Niklas Olofsson.
– It was very difficult this spring. Of course, the crisis agreement makes money, but that is not what we want now, but we want to be free, be with the family and recover.
What they have told Danderyd Hospital staff so far is that the crisis agreement has not been activated locally at the hospital. But that could change quickly if the number of patients needing intensive care increased.
Sofia Rydgren Stale, president of the Swedish Medical Association, hopes the crisis agreement will not be abused.
– We hope you can keep this crisis agreement as short as possible. Many are tired and exhausted now, he tells SVT.
The union: Activate for the whole country
The president of the health association, Sineva Ribeiro, said on Wednesday that the crisis situation agreement must be activated for the entire country, not only for the three regions.
– If we are not going to activate the crisis agreement now, then I do not know when it could be used, he tells TT.
Sineva Ribeiro, President of the Swedish Medical Association
Photo: ULF HAT / PRESS IMAGE
It adds that it is important to be able to move staff between hospitals and regions to meet regional care needs.
– The experiences of the crisis situation agreement that was applied in intensive care in Stockholm this spring made the staff there completely exhausted, because it was only applied there.
SKR rejects
Activating the crisis agreement for all regions is not relevant, announces SKR. To be activated, the regions themselves must request it.
– This is not something to be done lightly, says Helene Lindstrand, SKR press spokesperson.
