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Sweden may be forced to turn to Nordic neighbors for help to cope with pressure on intensive care.
Sten Rubertsson, a staff physician for the National Board of Health and Welfare, tells Dagens Medicin.
– A decision on a national climbing plan will be made in the next 24 hours.
There are a total of 700 intensive care units in the country. But as the number of people who become seriously ill from covid-19 increases, vacancies decrease.
And the situation in Swedish intensive care is now so dire that Sweden is approaching the limit of what medical care can handle. This is what Sten Rubertsson, staff physician for the National Board of Health and Wellness, tells Dagens Medicin.
– At the national level, we have some VAT capacity left, but it extends far beyond normal and is very unevenly distributed, says Sten Rubertsson.
Health professionals kneel
The worst situation is in Stockholm, Skåne and Gothenburg. In Stockholm, 99 percent of the spots were filled earlier this week, with between five and seven spots remaining.
– This means that if there is another patient, we still have to fix a place. But intensive care is the last safety net, so it’s a very serious situation, says Björn Persson, manager of intensive care operations at Karolinska University Hospital in Dagens Nyheter earlier this week.
According to Sten Rubertsson, the problem is not the beds and equipment in hospitals, but the health personnel, who are now on their knees, should be able to cope and cope with it.
A national climbing plan is coming
In the national intensive care coordination network, where Rubertsson participates, it is still being discussed how the number of places can be increased and a national escalation plan is being developed.
– There will be a decision of the medical and health directors on a national escalation plan within the next 24 hours. We’ll see what we can do to maximize resources, he says.
In the spring, the health service managed to expand intensive care to handle the large number of covid patients, but it is not certain that this can be done now, says Rubertsson.
– This spring we hit about 1,100 places, but I’m not sure we can get back up to those levels because people are exhausted, says Sten Rubertsson.
You can ask Finland for help
And Sweden may soon need to turn to Finland or some of the other neighboring countries for help in order to receive all the patients in need of intensive care.
– There is a network for that, says Sten Rubertsson to Dagens Medicin.
Finland has a significantly better corona situation, with 29,572 confirmed infections and a total of 442 deaths according to Thursday’s figures. Interior Minister Maria Ohisalo has previously said that Sweden can count on the support of the East.
– We have constant contact with each other and Finland is ready to help in every way: with intensive care, with testing capacity, with everything we can. We are here for you, he told Svenska Dagbladet this summer.
Cancel other care
To further expand intensive care capacity, regions are considering de-licensing care staff and bringing in staff who do not typically work in intensive care, according to Rubertsson.
The opening of a field hospital, as in the spring, is not planned during the second wave. Instead, they try to use the facilities within hospitals, which is done at the expense of other care.
– But the world does not stop, people have brain hemorrhages, have to change heart valves or have aortic hernias that fail and must be treated urgently. What is being done now in general is to significantly reduce planned surgical activities, says Sten Rubertsson.
Photo: TT NYHETSBYRâ N
Iva department. Stock Photography.
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