On Tuesday evening, only one ambulance was on duty in central Stockholm, Sweden. The cause is staff shortage. Now the opposition demands that the red-green regional council produce a crisis plan.
At the city station in Stockholm, there are normally four ambulances, but during the week only one of these was in service. According to Emil Skoglund, chief safety representative for ambulance services in Stockholm, the situation is the worst ever.
— We receive between 30 to 40 text messages daily about vacant shifts. We have parked vehicles everywhere. I would say it has never been as bad as it is now, not even during the pandemic, he tells the Schibsted-owned tabloid Aftonbladet.
Skoglund warns that the staff shortage poses a direct threat to Stockholm residents’ safety and that there is a risk that seriously injured or ill people will not receive ambulance service in time. He points to changed working conditions and drastically reduced starting salaries as the main causes.
Operations manager downplays the crisis
Jani Sundqvist, operations manager for AISAB which is responsible for ambulance services in Stockholm region, has a less dramatic view of the situation. He refers to the system of “borderless dispatch” which means that ambulances from other stations can provide coverage.
— It’s not the case that the area covered by the city station only has one vehicle, explains Sundqvist, who hopes that a new collective agreement this autumn will improve the situation.
Opposition demands crisis plan
The Moderate Party’s opposition regional councilor Kristoffer Tamsons is harshly critical.
— It is completely unacceptable that Sweden’s capital finds itself in a situation where one ambulance is supposed to serve hundreds of people. It is a threat to people’s lives and health, he says.
The Moderate Party demands that regional councilor Talla Alkurdi (Social Democrat) convene the regional board to produce a crisis plan. On Wednesday morning, Alkurdi held a crisis meeting with the Swedish Association of Health Professionals Stockholm.
Stockholm Region is governed by a coalition between the Social Democrats, Centre Party and Green Party, with support from the Left Party.
