The corona pandemic has been under pressure for over a year.

Despite the fact that the number of covid patients in the country's intensive care units is decreasing, there is great concern for the future.

- The staff who have worked with covidin intensive care have been exposed to extreme pressure.

For the summer, we do not have the staff we would need at all.

It will be difficult, says David Konrad, head of surgical and intensive care at Karolinska University Hospital.

Help from neighboring countries

When SVT examined the minutes from meetings between the country's intensive care units, we could see that the issue of seeking support from neighboring countries has been raised.

David Konrad is one of those who raises the issue.

- The national intensive care coordination has discussed it quite properly on repeated occasions, he says.

But despite calls for help from hospital representatives, Sweden has not yet issued a national request.

- So far, we have assessed at the national level that capacity in Sweden can be managed by the health care system in Sweden, says Taha Alexandersson, head of emergency preparedness at the National Board of Health and Welfare.

Looking for staff

Therefore, Karolinska University Hospital now chooses to search for staff themselves, both from other operations in Sweden and abroad.

- We hope that we will get help from other countries.

We appeal to everyone who has this competence.

Please, help us, says David Konrad and continues:

- I hope that there is a clear agenda and structure at a national level where you really ask for help.

I'm worried about what's going to happen otherwise.

But according to Taha Alexandersson, they do not act on the wishes of individual hospitals.

- The hospitals are led by the region and no region has turned to us and said that now we can not cope with this through the collaborations we have in Sweden, she says.

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