Nurses in psychiatry today spend two hours less per working day on direct contact with their patients than ten years ago. It shows a study done in six psychiatric wards in southern Sweden.

- It is worrying because time is crucial when establishing a relationship with the patient. We want person-centered care and the study shows that we are moving in the opposite direction, ”says Markus Alexandersson, 2nd Deputy Chairman of the Board of Health.

At the same time, he is not surprised by the study's results.

- We see this development in the entire welfare sector. The focus is on routines and what is easy to measure. Quality is more difficult to measure, which makes this study important, says Markus Alexandersson.

More doctors and nurses are required

Erik Lindborg (KD), 1st Deputy Chairman of the Health Committee, believes that politicians place too much administrative tasks on the nurses in psychiatry.

Can more resources be a solution?

- I think it's more about changing a way of working. The nurses have too little opportunity to control their own time. But of course, we have too few doctors and nurses in Blekinge, says Erik Lindborg.

Hear more in the clip above.