Healthcare meant to be more equal – now the sickest get less

Stockholm, Sweden – The promise of more equitable and needs-based healthcare in Region Stockholm appears to be faltering for some of the most vulnerable patients, particularly those requiring psychiatric care. Anton, a patient who previously received consistent weekly therapy sessions, now faces drastically reduced appointments and a daunting four-month waiting list for trauma treatment after the private company Wemind took over services previously managed by Aleris. His experience, characterized by a feeling of being "phased out" and a harsh critique of Wemind's patient care – stating "Animals are treated better than humans by Wemind!" – highlights a growing concern. This transition, driven by a competitive bidding process where companies like Wemind and Prima offered significantly lower prices, seems to have prioritized cost-cutting over patient well-being. Despite Region Stockholm's stated goals of improving healthcare equity upon the S-led coalition's rise to power in 2022, the reality on the ground suggests a system where the sickest are becoming the losers. The region's own financial reports indicate a surplus partly due to under-budgeting in psychiatry following this reorganization, raising questions about whether this is a genuine improvement in efficiency or a detrimental saving at the expense of patient care. The article, published by Dagens Nyheter, a prominent Swedish newspaper known for its in-depth investigative journalism, aims to shed light on these critical issues, questioning the effectiveness of privatizing essential public services and the true cost of such 'savings' on the mental health of the population.

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The entire January there were no visits. In March I found out why. A queue of four months for trauma treatment had been created when Wemind took over.