Government, Incompetence, Narrative, Oops, Socialism, Healthcare

"It's quicker to get a colleague back to work if you have an operation in two weeks' time rather than having to wait for a year," privately insured Anna Norlander told Sveriges Radio on Friday. "It's terrible that I, as a young person, don't feel I can trust the health care system to take care of me." The insurance plan guarantees that she can see a specialist within four working days, and get a time for surgery, if needed, within 15.

Government, Incompetence, Oops, Healthcare

Mother-of-two Elin Andersson has highlighted staffing shortage problems at a maternity ward in Sundsvall in northern Sweden after she was asked to clean out her own hospital room just two days after giving birth by caesarean section.

Incompetence, Oops, Socialism, Healthcare

A Swedish man was forced to have his penis amputated after waiting more than a year to learn he had cancer. The man, who is in his sixties, first visited a local clinic in Blekinge in southern Sweden in September 2009 for treatment of a urinary tract infection, the local Blekinge Läns Tidning (BLT) reported. When he returned in March 2010 complaining of foreskin irritation, the doctor on duty at the time diagnosed the problem as a simple case of inflammation. After three weeks passed without the prescribed treatment alleviating the man’s condition, he was instructed to seek further treatment at Blekinge Hospital. But it took five months before he was able to schedule an appointment at the hospital. When he finally met with doctors at the hospital, the man was informed he had cancer and his penis would have to be removed.

Government, Incompetence, Oops, Socialism, Healthcare

A surgeon who lost the right to operate in Norway after 29 cases of malpractice is working unhindered at a hospital in northern Sweden, where managers were previously unaware of her error-strewn past.

Incompetence, Oops, Socialism, Healthcare

A 72-year-old man having a tumour removed from his kidney died after the chief anesthetist and nurse took a lunch break in the middle of the surgery. The incident, which took place at the Lidköping hospital, has prompted stinging criticism from Sweden's National Board of Health and Welfare (Socialstyrelsen). The 72-year-old went under anesthetic at 10.45am on the day of the operation, which took place in January 2011. At noon sharp, the head anesthetist left the operating room to go for lunch. Fifteen minutes later, the head nurse anesthetist also left the patient and went for lunch. No other anesthetist was called in to take over responsibility for the doctor who was on his lunch break.