Tina Johansson is the psychological management manager at the psychiatry in Östersund.
She can not talk about individual patients and does not know where Set Melander received the information about the three-year waiting period.
- But that does not match the waiting times we have here, she says.
Usually comes via primary care
In normal cases, the first care contact is made with primary care.
It is then decided whether the patient can receive care in primary care or should be referred to specialist care.
If it is a post-traumatic stress disorder, PTSD, the patient can go to psychiatry.
How long can you wait with yourself before receiving treatment?
- There is no simple answer to that but it depends on several different factors.
But those who have waited the longest have waited for two years, says Tina Johansson.
Covid-19 may affect healthcare in the future
According to Tina Johansson, this is the first patient in the county who requested treatment for PTSD that is directly linked to covid-19.
- This is the first time we hear about it, she says.
At the same time, it is now known that many who suffer from covid-19 can get mental problems.
Already this summer, experts went out and warned that thousands of Swedes can suffer from PTSD when memories and anxiety from the illness return.
What do you see as challenges in psychiatry regarding covid-19?
- There are a lot of challenges because we know so little about it. Everything is new so we may have to find new ways of thinking about these patients, says Tina Johansson.