New EU Rules Require 24-Hour Rest, but Ambulance in Gäddede Continues 24-Hour Shifts
As of October 1, new EU rules went into effect, requiring 24-hour rest in a range of activities in municipalities and regions, including care for the elderly and healthcare. However, these rules have not been noticed at the ambulance in Gäddede, where they continue to operate 24-hour shifts, according to a report by the Municipal Worker.
The ambulance in Gäddede has eight employees, and one of them, ambulance paramedic Joakim Mikaelsson, believes that it would be impossible to continue without the 24-hour shifts.
“We have no way of coping with this otherwise. It would set it up in all possible ways, financially for example. For me as a single father, it wouldn’t be possible to get it together,” Mikaelsson said.
The route to work also plays a big role, with some employees having long commutes. Mikaelsson himself has an 11-mile one-way commute, while the longest journey is 40 miles.
Lars Kvemo, the manager of the ambulance’s cooperation agreement with the municipality and Region Jämtland Härjedalen called Närvård Frostviken, explained that 24-hour rest would lead to a precarious personnel situation. Introducing 12-hour shifts would require two more employees, and four current employees have said they would quit if 24-hour rest was introduced.
Haven’t applied for exemption yet
One way to address this issue is to apply for an exemption to continue with 24-hour shifts. However, the municipality has not yet done so due to a misunderstanding about the dates for the application and granting of exemptions, which has been possible since September 29. Fackförbundet Kommunal’s department Middle Norrland is now looking into whether to act on the fact that the ambulance in Gäddede is defying the rules.
Mikaelsson expressed his concern about the future, fearing that he may be forced to change jobs and also worried for the population in sparsely populated areas of Sweden, stating, “I feel worried for the population in the sparsely populated areas of Sweden in general, that they will be without their ambulances. After all, that’s who we are for.”
The situation in Gäddede is one that reflects the challenges faced by emergency medical services in rural areas and raises questions about the feasibility of implementing new EU rules in these specific settings.