Approximately 1.7 billion kroner will be allocated to emergency hospitals operated by Region Stockholm, including Karolinska University Hospital, Södersjukhuset, Södertälje Hospital, Danderyd Hospital, and St. Erik’s Eye Hospital. Karolinska will receive the largest contribution of around SEK 900 million, followed by Danderyd and Södersjukhuset, who will both receive over 300 million. St. Göran’s Hospital, operated by private healthcare company Capio, will also receive an additional SEK 150 million. According to Björn Zoëga, director at Karolinska, the funding increase will allow for flexibility while still prioritizing cost efficiency. Talla Alkurdi (S), healthcare regional councilor in Stockholm, emphasizes that the additional funding is to maintain healthcare capacity and not to increase ambitions. Inflation has led to rising costs in recent years, and the Social Democrats in the Stockholm Region demand more government funding to prevent a healthcare crisis.
1.7 of the two billion kroner will go to the emergency hospitals run under Region Stockholm’s own auspices, Karolinska University Hospital, Södersjukhuset, Södertälje Hospital, Danderyd Hospital and St. Erik’s Eye Hospital.
Karolinska receives the largest contribution of approximately SEK 900 million. Both Danderyd and Södersjukhuset will receive just over 300 million. St. Göran’s hospital, which is run by the private healthcare company Capio, will receive an additional SEK 150 million.
According to Björn Zoëga, director at Karolinska, the addition will give the hospital room to manoeuvre. He says, however, that there is still a need for efficiencies.
– We have managed it before, like last year when we took care of more patients. Now the situation is a little tougher, with inflation that we cannot influence and which drives up costs in general and also our pension costs. The supplement allows us to protect care, so that our patients get the help they need, while we will continue to chase costs within the administration, he says in a comment to DN.
Talla Alkurdi (S), healthcare regional council in Stockholm underlines that the extra addition does not mean an increase in ambition, but that it is only about maintaining capacity in care.
– We have made a review of the hospital’s finances and seen where it is most urgent. Based on that, a distribution has been drawn up that should be as fair as possible, she says.
Inflation hits the hospitals in Stockholm hard, which in recent years have had rapidly rising costs. The Social Democrats in the Stockholm Region demand that the government push for more money and warn that healthcare in several of the country’s regions is under threat.
– We are doing our utmost to ensure that the businesses can cope with this economic crisis. We are really scratching the bottom of the coffin and need a government that understands that this inflationary crisis risks becoming a healthcare crisis if they don’t act, says healthcare regional councilor Talla Alkurdi.
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