The management of Gällivare Hospital is constantly looking for staff who can work in healthcare.
The shortage of staff became acute already last summer when the large covid peak fell in Gällivare.
Then they were forced to bring in staff completely without nursing education or experience.
They have since been quickly trained by the Norrbotten Region to be able to go in and do simpler tasks.
So it has continued during the past year.
- We have a fairly shallow surface in the town and we fight with beaks and claws about the skills, says Torbjörn Espling, operations manager at Gällivare hospital.
Mining companies offered staff
Large employers such as Boliden and LKAB have allowed staff with nursing education to switch to care with retained pay.
There have also been staff from other places who once worked in healthcare.
At the same time, people are suffering from high sickness rates due to the pandemic and in addition there are employees who have not been able to cope with the heavy load and have chosen to quit.
Nobody likes to work extra shifts
But there are also those who have taken the extra sessions with joy.
- I love my job and then you have to work.
I take both one, two and three extra sessions a week, says assistant nurse Ingun Ekhorn.
Meet her in the video above and hear more about the great staff shortage and how everything changed when covid-19 broke out.