Even before COVID-19 hit Sweden the healthcare system was under extreme pressure. The occupancy rate in all Swedish hospitals before the pandemic hit was on average 105%
The reason is extreme population growth causing lack of capacity and distress in the healthcare system. Waiting lines for operations were several months long even before the pandemic hit.
Under normal circumstances a hospital should have a occupancy rate of about 70% and can then easely scale up production to 100% This was not the case in Sweden going into 2020 and the pandemic.
Now after the pandemic doctors and nurses have reach the breaking point. All canceled operations during the pandemic has caused a giant waiting list for operations. Even life threatening operation like cancer can not be conducted.
185.000 patients in Sweden are now waiting for a operation. This is an extreme figure in a country that used to have one of the worlds best healthcare systems.
Today Expressen reports that 30 nurses at Karolinska hospital have quit their job. They can´t take the stress any longer.
