The background is the decision by the Health Board on April 4 to approve measures corresponding to SEK 89 million for finances in the balance sheet 2019.

At the regional board meeting in August, the economic situation had deteriorated and therefore the regional council now decided on measures.

One area that the region has now decided to save within is the cost of hiring staff. According to the action plan, SEK 5 million will be saved this year and another 20 million next year.

"Our own fault"

Other clubbed measures include reviewing consulting costs, purchasing stops for consumable inventory, reduced medical services, such as sampling and examinations, relocation of patients from forensic to psychiatry, reduced cost of care guarantee and employment testing of vacant administrative services. The measures will slow down the cost trend by SEK 20 million this year and SEK 66 million next year.

- The hardest part is getting with all the staff. That everyone needs to be helped and that even the small is important. It is our own fault, we politicians, we have introduced a system where we are constantly bringing in new money, ”says Mikael Johansson (M) regional board chairman.

(S) and (V) received

All parties except the Social Democrats and the Left Party voted in favor of the proposal. The Social Democrats would have liked to see tougher savings in terms of costs for hiring staff and their goal is for the region to be completely independent of hiring staff by 2020.

- I think you can save more on hiring staff, which means we can invest more on our own staff. We also believe that you can save more on consulting costs that go to private companies, things that I think we could do ourselves, ”says Henrietta Sarrate (S) opposition council.