In mid-January, Östra's delivery gave an appeal to the Regional Health, which runs youth and maternity care clinics.

Reinforcement was requested for more midwives.

- We asked who could imagine it and some raised their hand, others said that they had the skills but that they were not so keen on it.

But according to the employment contract, we can relocate someone temporarily.

When emergency care is in crisis, we must help so that emergency care is safe for the patient, says Susanne Samuelsson, area manager for maternity care.

The union: We are under pressure

A total of 14 midwives have been loaned out.

Some employees in maternity care are now considering starting work privately because the region's employment agreement means that, against their will, they can be ordered to work in the entire region.

But few of those who have been loaned out have explicitly said no to the relocation.

- I feel that it is not completely voluntary, but you do it out of loyalty, to help your colleagues, says Sabina Gustafsson, chief safety representative and elected representative of the Healthcare Association at the Regional Health.   

The union also sees problems with taking midwives from the rest of women's health in Gothenburg with surrounding municipalities to solve the problems at the birth Östra.   

- One reason why we have such low maternal and child mortality in Sweden is that we follow them so closely during pregnancy.

It is unfortunate that we pick staff from there, our work environment has been and is under pressure, with occasional high absenteeism and hard prioritization of work tasks, says Sabina Gustafsson.

TV Susanne Samuelsson, Regional Health midwife clinics.

Th Sabina Gustafsson, Vårdförbundet.

Longer waiting time for spiral

Maternity care has had to prioritize contraceptives such as the insertion of IUDs as a consequence of both the pandemic and lending, says area manager Susanne Samuelsson.  

- When the emergency operations are in crisis, we need help to ensure that the residents receive the necessary care and it is part of the employment that you can be relocated temporarily.

We prioritize that pregnant women should have all their visits, but some other things we have to prioritize down.

Marie is one of those who have been loaned out for the birth, hear her tell more in the clip below:

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Hear Marie talk about coming back to the birth three months after her dismissal in the clip.

Photo: SVT