Despite the fact that healthcare in some regions has been extremely strained during the pandemic, no region has activated a state of emergency. In several places where many seriously ill covid-19 patients have been cared for, the staff situation has been very strained and several inexperienced people have worked.
Karin Frisell who is the medical manager in charge of the intensive care unit at Mälar Hospital in Eskilstuna, thinks it is strange that no disaster situation has been introduced.
– I have witnessed that we have sounded disaster alarms before, when the city hotel burned down, for example. But it did not happen this time and in my eyes this was honestly a catastrophic situation, she says.
In a disaster situation medical quality cannot always be ensured, even though the region invests and controls all the resources required.
Marie Bennermo is head of the patient safety unit at Region Sörmland. She is also a member of the regional special health care management, which is the body that decides on disaster situations. She does not want to answer why disaster alarms were not activated, but says that it has been a strained situation for care in the region given that we got a lot of patients very quickly and that we were the first out.
– We will do an external review of the region’s coron work and that matter will be highlighted, says Marie Bennermo.
Also in Västerås and Jönköping, there was a shortage of equipment, medicines and trained intensive care staff. There have also been more abnormalities, pressure ulcers and multi-resistant bacteria than normal.
Martin Holmer, as operations manager at the intensive care unit at Ryhov County Hospital in Jönköping, says that the staff have felt bad about not having had enough.
Disaster situation then gives an important signal to the staff, that one can lower the medical ambition under extreme conditions, but he believes that the region, despite not activating the disaster situation, put in the resources that were available.
– I want to let go of what you put on the label, but if word choice and communication had been facilitated, it would have helped the staff. I have tried to be clear as a manager, that you have the relationship you have. That I stand up for them if there are any deviations that can not load them.
– They have done their utmost under the conditions that have been. When I listen to the staff, my opinion is that it has been stressful to know that you can do more, but you have not had enough, says Martin Holmer.
Source: ICELAND NEWS