Ahead of the 2022 elections: Sweden’s elderly about care

The sun rises over the garden in the center of Hallstahammar, as the fountain water splashes diagonally over the round pond. A stone’s throw from the trees is Lars Carlson, 75, sitting on an exercise machine. Legs swing back and forth.

– I see him as health care. It only takes 40 minutes a day, says Lars Carlson.

He is rarely ill, but has clear ideas about health care: that is the problem.

– He says the health center is a brake block, and highlights long wait times as a major problem.

– When you have to be accepted, this is world-class care. But my neighbor had rectal cancer and it took two months before she could see the right doctor.

DN is located in Hallstahammar To talk to a new generation of older adults about their expectations for care.

Buddy Thomas Lindgren, 62, who trains his arms around the corner, knows a lot about what it means to wait. Eight weeks ago, he got a new joint, after two years on the waiting list. He has only a few years left before he retires, and in a couple of weeks the plan will be for him to be back and back again, getting into the trucker’s cabin.

– does not work. I’m waiting for the other hip replacement. I thought the doctor could take both at the same time, but it didn’t work, he says.

Sweden, like many countries in the Western world, has an inverted population pyramid. The older generations are older than the younger generations. And in 2029, there will be just over 800,000 people aged 80 or older, doubling that in just 10 years. This is the age group that actually uses care more than anything else – and there will be more.

– We joke about her too. You feel it every morning when you wake up – where does it hurt today? And if it doesn’t hurt – am I dead? Inger Pearson, 75, head of PRO in Vastmanland.

across the green The park in Hallstamar, in the massive ABF building, she and a group of female retirees have come together to share their care experiences. They are all members of the National Organization for Pensioners, PRO, and lead an active life. However, diseases creep in.

Just like friends who work in the garden, they find it difficult to get a doctor’s appointment. This means that many older adults are forced instead to seek urgent care.

And she was sent home with a bag of cereal, says Inger Pearson.

She advocates a more holistic view of older adults’ bodies and believes that this would reduce emergency room admissions and visits.

For seniors in care today, if you apply for a disease, they won’t figure out the whole picture. They just look at the new thing you come up with. She says: I think there is money to be saved here if it was managed differently.

Anita Dahlberg, 82 years old, She says she underwent heart surgery. Previously, she had a family doctor, which was replaced by surrogates who read medical records from the inside. When the time comes, doctor visits are often short, ten minutes or fifteen minutes, and more than one issue is difficult to deal with, she said. Just repeating your medical history consumes a lot of your precious time. But Anita has found her own way.

I write notes, and prepare myself, so that I know what to ask with the doctor. My ex-doctor praised me for it, and said she would copy my note! You are often a little nervous when you go to the doctor. It can be hard to get the words out.

The others nodded in agreement. If there’s one thing they really want out of the care, it’s better continuity. Everyone wants to have regular contact with their doctor and more time when they go to the doctor. It’s about having the time to tackle everything that’s important and being able to talk about sensitive topics.

For many men, for example, it can be difficult to talk about urination and prostate problems, and so they continue to solve their problems for a long time, says Inger-Pearson.

to increase accessibility, To reduce pressure on care and cut costs, technology and digitization are often put forward as a solution, by regional politicians and employers’ organization SKR. But the question is what pensioners are thinking.

Agneta Bodhi, 70, says as long as it leads to more time with the same doctor, it can be a good solution and has a calming effect. She calls herself a “computer freak” and says that digital meetings have become a habit during a pandemic. There is a smartphone in all hand luggage in the room. It is better to use a regular doctor on the phone than another doctor in the health center, everyone agrees.

With a new generation of seniors, I think digital exclusion will decrease, says Agneta Bodhi.

Then Kristina Sand, 68, broke in. She isn’t quite sure about that.

– My husband will not be able to pay one bill if I die today. He can call you Agneta!

After the pandemic, PRO has In Vastmanland they have had difficulty starting their activities, says Inger-Pearson, and there is concern that the isolation that many have experienced in recent years will take hold – and affect health.

Seija Eriksson, 71, says the loneliness that many older adults experience can also be present when you live in a couple.

She is one of many family caregivers in Sweden and has a husband who is in pain after erosive injuries to his back.

“I never know what he’ll be like when I get home, so I’ll run over at once and take a look,” she says.

So far, his healthcare solution On the husband’s back his problems were more painkillers. Despite the fact that he went into an emergency situation, she doesn’t feel that anyone in the care has been implicated in whether he was taking too much medication. And no one asked how she handled the situation herself, she says, and she says a great deal of responsibility lies with relatives in the couple’s relationship.

All the ladies in the room are painfully aware of what aging means. Agneta Bodhi says that, however, it was surprising when people started talking to children above their head.

It happens in both restaurants and healthcare, she says.

With her generation, at the same time, comes a group of powerful voices, more accustomed to making demands. Gone are the days when older patients agreed to most things and were grateful for everything, you think

– It ended with “Thank you for letting me come.” Agneta Bodhi says I was glad I came, maybe it will be instead.

Read more:

Why does Anita, 82, have to see new doctors all the time? – DN answers four important questions about elder care.