This year’s seasonal flu in Sweden was predicted to be very aggressive, something that has now transpired. In Stockholm, the number of hospital admissions for influenza is twice as high as the number admitted for Covid-19.
The situation is further exacerbated by the fact that many staff members have fallen ill with Covid. Five hospitals in the Stockholm region are so strained that they have gone into crisis mode.
“It’s the beginning of the perfect storm. Right now, the biggest problem is the seasonal flu, we have twice as many hospitalized for it as for Covid,’ explained Sven Klaesson, chief physician at Södersjukhuset, SÖS to Swedish daily Aftonbladet.
Andreas Fischer, specialist doctor and chairman of the Hospital Doctors in Stockholm, said that the basic problem was neither really the flu nor Covid, but the extreme lack of space for which politicians are responsible. Patients are now cared for in any area, and hospitals are actively violating fire protection rules. He said that the large number of hospitalized means that more people will die unnecessarily.
“It is known from studies that such solutions lead to increased mortality and healthcare injuries. Patients who die could have survived if they had received better care. We are in that situation now. Some of the patients we now have who are in the emergency room for 22 hours will die to a greater extent than necessary. I had a patient recently where my assessment was that he could have survived with better care,” said Fischer.
During the past week, the Stockholm Region decided on further cuts of SEK 300 million in the already severely vulnerable healthcare.
“There is someone who does not understand, who is playing monopoly with human life. In order to be able to make decisions that lead to savings in healthcare in the middle of a pandemic, one must have valid reasons. The regional budget should be examined and reviewed.”
He continued: “What is happening now is a disaster. I’m worried about what’s to come with Christmas, New Year’s and the thirteenth day weekend which we know is the worst weekend of the whole year. It is extremely worrying.”
https://freewestmedia.com/2021/12/20/crisis-at-stockholm-hospitals-not-triggered-by-covid/