On Thursday, the Norrbotten Region announced that it will increase the care staff's compensation further for extra shifts this summer.

The decision was made during an extraordinary regional board meeting on 22 June.

The Norrbotten Region wrote in its press release that the compensation included nurses, specialist nurses, midwives, assistant nurses, nurses or child nurses.

The emergency staff was left without compensation

But what did not come out was that the compensation did not cover the staff who work in the emergency department at Sunderby Hospital.

The staff would thus only be allowed to take part in the first increase, which means SEK 1,300 for an extra pass on a weekday, and thus lose SEK 1,300.

- What I thought then was: Is this a joke?

It was the same when we were to receive the covid supplement, nor did it apply to the emergency room.

Then they had also prioritized us away and then it happens again, it's laughable, says assistant nurse Rasmus Johansson at Sunderby Hospital's emergency department.

Changed in a few hours

When SVT Norrbotten contacts the regional councilor Linda Frohm (M) on Friday morning, she says that the increased compensation is an investment for patient safety in the first place.

- If you were to go out and say that everyone gets this no matter where you work, it would not have been efficient enough, she says.

But just a few hours later, the Norrbotten Region changes - makes a total U-turn.

Now, instead, the emergency personnel will also be covered by the increased compensation.

- When we made the decision, the goal was more care places and to then update this every day to see if we need to make further efforts or broaden the offer, says regional councilor Linda Frohm (M) who says that it has already been possible to open more care places.

But when we talked to you a few hours ago, it sounded completely different, then the emergency personnel would not be covered?

- The decision to invest 20 million can only go to opening more care places and here we have now seen that we need to strengthen the chain to be able to start more care places.