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Of: TT
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Photo: Pontus Lundahl / TT
Björn Eriksson, Stockholm Region Medical and Health Director.
The Stockholm region needs to expand intensive care and hopes to receive help from private sources.
– Give them free time and let them come work for us, says Björn Eriksson, health director in the Stockholm region.
On Wednesday, Stockholm’s health and healthcare director, Björn Eriksson, came out with the message that intensive care units in the region were 99 percent full.
– We are currently seeing a very serious situation and we need help, he said then.
At the same time, in real terms, at the moment “only” 80-90 covid patients are receiving intensive care in Stockholm. This spring, that number was at most 230. And there is no shortage of places in question, according to Björn Eriksson.
No maximum limit
– There is no maximum limit. We can always scale and have always known that we must increase capacity. We have done it day by day, he says.
TT: But this figure is “99” percent. Doesn’t it get a bit misleading then?
– It takes a little time to organize new places. That’s what it’s about. We have to plan it, says Björn Eriksson.
On Friday afternoon, he brought together some of the largest private care providers in the region for a meeting. The reason: to emphasize seriousness and ask them to fire their staff.
– We want you to give your employees time off so that they can work on covid care with us, he says.
Hundreds were borrowed
This was something that happened when the situation was at its worst this spring. According to Björn Eriksson, this involved around 100 private employees who were on loan.
– The situation is serious and we need help. About a third of the care in Stockholm is done privately. So it is reasonable that they too take responsibility, says Björn Eriksson.
Now, as then, it is in intensive care where personnel are needed.
– What we have now that we did not have this spring is that there are many more who are requesting another type of emergency care. It went down a lot for a few weeks in the spring.
Positive answer
According to Björn Eriksson, the response was positive from private actors who attended the meeting on Friday afternoon and he hopes that staff will be lent. However, he cannot answer how much it will cost the region because no one knows how many they will be able to rent.
– We will need as many as possible. So it is clear that it will cost us more. First, the region assumes these costs. But all additional expenses related to covid-19 are reported to the state, he says.
On Friday night, news also came that Karolinska University Hospital is relocating staff from Astrid Lindgren’s children’s hospital to support the care of covid patients. 120 doctors, nurses, and nursing assistants are needed in the intensive care unit. The consequence: non-emergency pediatric surgery is postponed for the future.
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