Suspected corona infected were cared for with others in the same premises at Akademiska - "Unsustainable situation"

When a patient comes to the University Hospital, he or she undergoes a so-called screening triage outside the premises according to the National Board of Health and Welfare's guidelines.

When covid-19 is suspected, the patient is referred either to the emergency department, the so-called yellow zone, or to the infection clinic. Those who are not suspected of being infected are referred to an infection-free zone called the green zone.

During the summer, these groups should have mixed.

The staff is alert

On 25 June, a notice with the subject "Unsustainable situation in the emergency department" will be submitted to IVO's information service.

The sender is an assistant nurse in the emergency room. The next day, another alarm is received - “Patients remain in the emergency room due to lack of space. Both covid patients and non-covid ”.

On June 30, a third healthcare employee writes that the situation is getting worse and that it is unacceptable to wait with an inspection.

Another alarm received on the same day states that "it has looked like this since midsummer when the hospital reduced places even though it was the same problem before".

According to the tipper, the management ignores the fact that IVO pointed out the problem during an inspection earlier in the year. "Something must be done now."

Cord admits problem

On July 21, IVO's administrator will call the emergency department's operations manager Anette Skoglund.

During the conversation, which is documented in documents SVT Uppsala has read, the head of operations states that certain green patients, ie guaranteed infection-free patients, must be cared for in the yellow zone due to the green zone lacking the right equipment. She confirms that this has meant that green and yellow patients have been mixed.

The administrator asks Anette Skoglund about measures due to IVO's previous decision, where the reception was criticized, and also points out that IVO takes seriously shortcomings in terms of infection risk even before the corona outbreak.

Anette Skoglund then says that two chief physicians have been given the task of reviewing the infection clinic and that they understand that IVO takes the risks seriously.

The next day, IVO's administrator contacts emergency manager Fredrik Sund.

In the conversation, he confirms the information that emergency rooms and monitoring places are only in the yellow zone. He says that the premises are cramped and that the issue of patients with infection and risk of infection has been a concern for a long time, but that it was put on its head during the corona pandemic.

Fredrik Sund is operations manager at the infection clinic and was on-call doctor when IVO called. SVT is still looking for those responsible for the emergency department for a comment. Fredrik Sund is no longer the on-call doctor, but still tells SVT that the expert function Vårdhygien, which works to prevent healthcare-related infections, has been involved in the planning.

- The emergency room is for those who are most seriously ill, and therefore it can on occasion happen that seriously ill patients come in at the same time who can be ill both in covid-19 and other things. But the emergency room is large and it has been judged to be sufficient not to cause the spread of infection, says Fredrik Sund, then chief physician.

IVO has requested additional information from Akademiska. They must be submitted by 17 August.

SVT is looking for those responsible for the emergency department.