Last week came the shock message for the intensive care nurses at Sahlgrenska - the holiday weeks that the nurses sought, and received, will be moved and hacked up.

- It was a tremendous disappointment. I am a man myself too. I had also made plans, says Anna Wikström, one of the affected nurses. 

In previous years, the staff has received eight thousand SEK in compensation for voluntarily moving their holiday. They will get this year too. However, the employer has extended the holiday period to September and can move the weeks to anytime during this period. In addition, the holiday is unpacked, and some four consecutive weeks does not seem to be.

The Västra Götaland region believes that every manager has the right to decide if, when and to what extent the decided remuneration should be used.

Letter to the politicians

Now all IVA nurses at Sahlgrenska have sent a letter to the regional politicians asking for financial compensation for their vacated holiday - SEK 30,000 for each involuntarily moved holiday week, and SEK 500 extra for all workouts since the start of the pandemic.

Tough working days

Anna Wikström has worked as an intensive care nurse for a year, a profession that was tough even before the global pandemic. Now the work situation is even more difficult, and she describes a daily life with hot and heavy equipment, no toilet breaks and nose wounds due to the protective mask.

- I do not think myself to be burnt material, but I have had to re-evaluate it, says Anna Wikström.

Hear the IVA nurse Anna, who works with covid-19 patients, tell us about her everyday life in the clip above.