During the fall, a first meeting is planned between the Crown Enforcement Officer, primary care, psychiatry, budget and debt counseling, social services and patient organizations.
The latter are important because they have experience and know what changes are needed, says Anders Håkansson, senior physician and professor of addiction medicine at Lund University.
- Over-indebted people have a very high excess risk of suffering from psychological problems, mental illnesses and suicide, he says.
Creating networks to help
He is the project manager for the creation of networks between the authorities regarding over-indebtedness and health.
Over-indebtedness means, according to the Council of Europe's definition, that a person or a family has more debts than they have the capacity to repay over a longer period.
It was Fredrik Tjulander from Malmö who took the initiative to try to get the actors to cooperate after having himself come close to taking his own life.
He brought Anders Håkansson and the research group at Lund University with him.
- We clicked and were able to work very well together.
Fredrik is the driving force behind this and a bit of a spider in the web, says Anders Håkansson.
Compare with high blood pressure
The aim of the network is to create clear guidelines and "chains of care".
He compares to physical ailments.
- High blood pressure, for example, is a clear and known risk factor for many diseases.
There are clear procedures for how to work.
But being over-indebted is usually not a question that spontaneously comes up at health care meetings.
There, increased awareness can make a big difference, says Anders Håkansson.
It is important to get in at an early stage to avoid the very worst consequences, he believes.