Swedish Patients Get Pans And Spoons To Call Help 13
The problem with overcrowding in Swedish hospitals has gotten so bad that one recently ran out of emergency buzzers for patients. Children were given pans and spoons to bang together in case of emergency, while adult patients got bells from a local hardware store to summon help. From the article: "All nine hospitals with emergency rooms in western Sweden are desperately overcrowded, a report by the Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare said. Maria Tenggren, a union official and employee at Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Gothenburg, said the hospitals 'long ago passed the limit of what is acceptable. We have for years nagged about the problem of overcrowding, but nothing happens,' she said."
This article belies a greater question... (Score:1)
Remember, kids, cut AWAY from yourself!
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I'd rather receive no healthcare than pay (via taxes or otherwise) for diluted, long-waiting-lines, we-don't-care-about-your-health care. At least I'd be getting my money's worth.
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This is a disgrace in any case, and the only article in the main newspaper about it is a short clip about the children's wards in
Sounds like blowing the things out of proportion.. (Score:2)
Or someone, somewhere pushing an agenda of some kind.
Particularly when you read the more detailed article, which comes off as a bit contradictory to itself.
There's overcrowding, but there are actually three unused wards. There's a lack of staff, but it is actually a 3-hospital complex with a staff of 17.000. [wikipedia.org]
http://www.thelocal.se/31842/20110204/ [thelocal.se]
Pots and pans sound hospital patient alarms
Published: 4 Feb 11 12:07 CET
An overcrowded hospital in Gothenburg has resorted to giving patients in a children's ward saucepans and spoons to summon assistance in emergency situations, according to a union report.
At Östra Hospital in Gothenburg, ordinary bedside alarms are not available to every patient due to overcrowding. The saucepans and spoons were issued in the children's ward to lift their spirits.
At another department, the staff shopped at hardware chain Clas Ohlsson to buy bells for their patients, the Swedish Association of Health Professionals (Vårdförbundet) reported on Friday.
The Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare (Socialstyrelsen) found that hospital overcrowding is common at all nine of western Sweden's hospitals with emergency departments.
"We have long ago passed the limit of what is acceptable. This is a huge problem," a shocked Maria Tenggren of the union, who also works at Gothenburg's Sahlgrenska University Hospital, said in a statement.
At Sahlgrenska/SU Östra, Alingsås and Mölndal, the supply of hospital beds is so scarce that it creates a risk for patient safety, the board wrote in its report.
"We have for years nagged about the problem of overcrowding, but nothing happens," said Tenggren.
She noted that there are currently three empty wards that are ready to open if the overcrowding becomes too much to handle and that the hospital has an action plan in place.
"However, with all the restrictions and reservations that exist, the opening of these extra spaces is rare. It looks great on paper, but it means nothing in practice," said Tenggren.
In addition, the board's inspection showed that at Östra Hospital, patients were relocated to wards where staff did not have the necessary skills to care for them. In addition, they often lacked oxygen and suction equipment, as well as bells.
The staff at the hospital in Mölndal could not adjust to the addition demand for care needed and had personnel who lacked the skills to care for relocated patients.
Mats Tullberg, the chief physician at SU, told newspaper Göteborgs-Posten (GP) on Friday that overcrowding is a major concern and that the relocation of patients to other departments was not a good sign.
"At most, we had about 80 patients waiting," he told GP.
And those patient numbers sound a lot like the numbers in Ireland [www.rte.ie] or Canada. [albertahealthservices.ca]
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Actually beds in Swedish hospitals costs a fee if I recall. It's relatively cheap and depends a lot on the municipality and region (see as a example http://www.lj.se/infopage.jsf?childId=9131&nodeId=36221 [www.lj.se] although prices are quite bit cheaper than in my city ), but expensive enough to discourage people using it as a hotel.
The problem is that some hospitals hadn't really expanded fast enough as some cities grow, or people don't distribute themselves correctly (going to a large hospital when their local c
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This would tend towards increase consumption of medical services for less and less important things.
I don't know how that stuff works in the US, but being Norwegian I can speak for Norwegian/Scandinavian hospitals (probably works roughly the same).
You can't just walk into a hospital and demand care. You need to see your normal doctor which can "order" a hospital to take you (or in an emergency the local 24/7 doctor or of course ambulance personnel can do the same).
Since doctors are paid the same regardless of what kind of treatment they give people, they have no incentive for giving wrongful or misleading
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