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Several regions put strong pressure on intensive care and discussions took place on Friday between health and medical care directors in the 21 regions and the municipalities and regions of Sweden, SKR, on how intensive care capacity can be expanded with more places of attention. At the same time, the focus is on moving patients rather than staff. At the end of March, a coordination structure of the country’s intensive care units was formalized, but now all regions, regardless of the impact of covid-19, must contribute, is the new message.
– You have to increase the number of places even where you don’t have such a large load for this to work, and you also have to move patients from regions with heavy loads, says Emma Spak and continues:
– The person who is most seriously ill has the right to receive little care first. Then we need help throughout Sweden and ensure the capacity we have to care for these patients.
Björn Eriksson, The Medical and Health Director in the Stockholm Region, stated earlier this week the need for help from the region and appealed to the National Board of Health and Welfare, says about the meeting:
– This is a form of additional concentration, and we will see if we can contribute or possibly get help, it is tense in the large regions. Right now we would need support to get through this period because we are under proportionally strong pressure from this pandemic, says Björn Eriksson.
At present, no priorities are set in intensive care, according to Eriksson.
Dagens Medicin writes that it is beginning to be time for Sweden to get help from neighboring countries for more intensive care resources, citing Sten Rubertsson, chief physician of the National Board of Health and Welfare and professor and chief physician in anesthesia. and intensive care at Akademiska in Uppsala.
When the situation was most critical in the spring, Finland offered help with intensive care resources to Sweden.
For DN, Sten Rubertsson wants to clarify the picture.
– We haven’t gotten to that point yet. But usually we already have an established collaboration in certain areas of intensive care between the Nordic countries, including in Ecmo and neonatal care, and if the pandemic continues and it turns out that Swedish intensive care resources are not enough, it is natural that it is for the countries. neighbors can convert us.
Sten Rubertsson describes the current situation is tense and with no signs of a decrease in the spread of infection, the burden is expected to remain.
– In some regions like Skåne, Stockholm, Gävleborg and Norrland, it is difficult. There are still several empty intensive care units, but they are not evenly distributed across the country. We currently have 680 seats. This spring, it was 1,100 at most, but that is a different situation now, as we also have a greater number of other intensive care patients who are not seen due to covid.
As an explanation for the difficulties in increasing the number of places, he also points out that the health service has increased the number of places for intermediate care, something between intensive care and regular hospitalization, which also requires intensive care personnel but does not it is visible in the statistics.
– All the care that was postponed this spring cannot wait, and now the pandemic has been going on for most of the year. Also, the staff is exhausted, and I don’t think we get to as many places as we did then.
