Södra Älvsborgs Hospital currently has a budget for 40 psychologist positions, but only 25 positions are filled.
The hospital has tried to attract psychologists in several ways.
A working method that has been used in recent years is remote work, where the psychologists can partly work remotely.
- The vast majority study in Gothenburg, you live in Gothenburg and have raised a family in Gothenburg, and that means that what we have looked at in recent years is also whether you can work elsewhere, says Jenny Linder.
Buys private investigations
The operations manager also says that since October they have started buying more investigations.
The hospital sends between 30 and 35 children a week to private providers, something that costs more but which it is hoped will shorten the waiting time.
But it is still the case that the hospital has difficulty meeting the goal of the enhanced care guarantee, which exists for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, i.e. that a child should not have to wait more than one month for investigation from the time a decision on investigation is made.
The queue is ten months long today and in October, eleven percent of those waiting in the queue received an investigation within a month.
- It is a difficulty we have throughout the country, to keep this.
It is clear that it is our goal to keep the care guarantee, says Jenny Linder.
The number of referrals has increased significantly
Another explanation for why it is difficult to keep the care guarantee is the increased influx of referrals.
Four years ago there were 400 referrals for investigation, last year there were 750, almost a doubling in four years, according to the hospital.
- It has probably gained more attention in society.
ADHD and autism are better known.
I also think it's because it's a tough situation in society, you need to have a high level of functioning to cope with school and working life, and that increases the demand for referrals to us, says Jenny Linder.