In total, in the last three years, the region has sent 3,521 referrals to private clinics.
In 2020, 1,180 referrals were sent, in 2021 the number was 1,375 and at the end of December, 966 referrals had been sent for 2022.
The region does not have a figure on what percentage of these referrals led to surgery or other measures, but the approximate cost of the three years' referrals ends up of approximately SEK 170 million.
Needed alternatives
- When the surgery queue grew during the pandemic and we couldn't operate as much ourselves, we needed other options.
In terms of numbers, private healthcare providers played the biggest role.
During the two pandemic years, we sent approximately 2,000 patients there, which was important in order to manage the operating queues, says Jens Christian Larsen, operations manager orthopedics at Ryhov county hospital in Jönköping.
Among the private clinics from which the region bought the most care is the Art Clinic in Jönköping.
The region has sent nearly 1,700 referrals there over three years.
Hear how Mats Bojestig, director of health and medical care, views the number of patients sent to private clinics in the clip above.