In the study, which was published in the journal Healtcare, 17 people were interviewed about their experience of care in the emergency department.
Many of the patients describe the situation as a limbo - they are regarded by the care as being admitted but still in the emergency room.
There, they feel lonely, vulnerable and abandoned, says Andreas Rantala who is one of the co-authors of the study.
- It depends on several things, but patient pressure has increased and Sweden has chosen a model where there are very few care places in relation to the population.
Another aspect is that we have a shortage of healthcare staff, mainly nurses who do not want to work in this environment.
Defended the nurses
But even when the patients interviewed felt that they did not receive help, they defended the nurses' work.
- The patients took the nurses' side, they tried to understand how they felt and had empathy for their situation, says Rantala and continues;
- They end up in a situation where they do not make any demands because they understood that they were busy.
That patients should have to think about the care staff's mood becomes bizarre, says Andreas Rantala.
Fewer visits in 2020
During the pandemic year 2020, waiting times and visits to the emergency room have decreased compared with the previous year, according to the National Board of Health and Welfare's latest statistics.
But according to Andreas Rantala, who has a clinical connection to Helsingborg's emergency care, the trend will not continue.
- It was a period where it was almost spooky in the emergency room, they did not dare to apply.
But now the situation is back to how it was before.
Could it be that citizens seek emergency care unnecessarily?
- Basically no.
It is difficult to get to primary care and 1177 from time to time and it is difficult to make assessments by phone.
It is not necessarily the case that you seek care unnecessarily, you apply because you have a need.