Hallengren: "Decades of down-prioritized care for the elderly"

According to the National Board of Health and Welfare's statistics, just over 47 per cent of all those who died in Covid-19 lived in nursing homes.

During tonight's corona hearing in Agenda, those responsible had to respond to the criticism that, among others, the Department of Health and Care Services (IVO) and the Corona Commission directed at elderly care.

A failure

According to the Corona Commission, the pandemic exposed shortcomings in care for the elderly that should have been remedied a long time ago.

Furthermore, the Commission stated that the general spread of infection was the most decisive factor in why so many died in the care of the elderly.

- That so many died can not be judged in any other way than as a failure, says Mats Melin, chairman of the corona commission in an item in Agenda.

"Municipalities have the main responsibility"

- This is a business for which the municipality has a main responsibility, but the regions are absolutely crucial with their care knowledge.

At the national level, equality and good conditions must be created.

And we have a lot to do at all three levels, answers Minister of Social Affairs Lena Hallengren (S).

Hallengren thinks that it is debatable whether it is the government and previous governments that bear the main responsibility for the shortcomings in care for the elderly, something that the Corona Commission has also established.

- One can discuss whether it is clear that it is current and previous governments that bear the responsibility.

It is decades of not prioritizing care for the elderly enough, Hallengren answers.

Furthermore, the Minister of Social Affairs defended herself by saying that her government had invested resources in care for the elderly by, among other things, prioritizing the medical knowledge in nursing homes and increasing the competence development of the municipality's staff.

Did not reach the nursing homes

According to Anders Tegnell, the Swedish Public Health Agency lacked the channels for care providers for the elderly and could not reach them.

- We do not have the channels for those who run these activities in the municipalities.

This was one of the parts of society that did not live up to the stress test, states state epidemiologist Anders Tegnell.

Despite the fact that Tegnell agrees with IVO's assessment that it has failed to protect the elderly in special housing, the state epidemiologist insists that the corona strategy was not a failure.