Elderly people are taken on an excursion - can be isolated for weeks

Since April, the government has issued a national restraining order on the country's nursing homes. But even if relatives are prevented from entering the nursing homes, the municipality has no right to prevent the elderly from getting out. A common method of getting around the restraining order is because the elderly go on an excursion with their relatives, says Greger Bengtsson, coordinator for elderly care at the employers' organization Sweden's municipalities and regions (SKR).

- You go home and drink coffee, maybe eat cake or whatever you do and then you drive them back to the nursing home, he says.

The nursing homes then end up in a difficult situation because there is a risk that the elderly may have been infected with the coronavirus.

- It is a very difficult issue and several municipalities have then isolated people for maybe two weeks until they know that it has not been infected by covid-19. But the point was more socializing and then they come back and it becomes even less, says Greger Bengtsson.

TT: Are the elderly and relatives informed that it could be like this?

- I assume so.

The problem has emerged in discussions between social managers, medically responsible nurses and SKR. Although the organization cannot say exactly to what extent this is happening, this type of excursion is one of the most common problems when it comes to dealing with the restraining order, according to Greger Bengtsson. SKR has therefore asked the National Board of Health and Welfare and the Public Health Agency to specify what applies in such situations.

- Should the elderly be considered infected or not when they return?

The municipalities have also experienced other problems linked to the restraining order. The Swedish Public Health Agency and the National Board of Health and Welfare, for example, have given the green light for people with proven antibodies to visit their elderly, but many municipalities have nevertheless put a stop to such visits.

- A very large part, most of the municipalities have said that they do not apply this exception, says Greger Bengtsson.

Many municipalities testify to difficulties in interpreting the test results and here too SKR has asked for clarification from the expert authorities.

- The self-tests are not okay, while the blood tests from the regions are okay. But how should a senior housing manager know what is what if it is not clear?