Hundreds of elderly people remain in the hospital - even though they have been fully treated

Helsingborg's hospital has an agreement with the North-West Skåne municipalities regarding elderly patients who have been fully treated.

- But some municipalities have a little more difficulty than others in taking their elderly home when we have finished the healthcare treatment, says hospital director Thomas Wallén.

Thousands of days

So far this year alone, it is a total of hundreds of patients and a couple of thousand days in total.

Some elderly people are forced to stay in the hospital for more than ten days waiting to come home.

This blocks the departments and access to the sites there.

- If all patients were allowed to go home when they have been treated, we would not have any problems with overnight stays in the corridor of the emergency room, says Thomas Wallén.

Thomas Wallén, head of the infirmary in Helsingborg, is concerned that so many elderly people remain in the hospital even though they have been fully treated.

Photo: Minna Korsgren/SVT

Lack of short-term places

The statistics show that Helsingborg is the municipality that is the worst at receiving fully treated patients - it is mostly about people who are going on to further rehabilitation in short-term accommodation.

- We are now planning for a new nursing home with 72 apartments which we hope can relieve the burden.

But that issue requires cooperation, that we solve it together with the hospital and primary care, says the city's care director Annika Andersson.

In the clip above, you can hear, among other things, the pensioners' organization's view of the problem.