Minister of Health Acko Ankarberg Johansson visited Region Jönköping County on Friday to take part in the work on the transition to close care. The visit took the form of a round table discussion with representatives from the region, the county’s municipalities, Municipal Development and Sweden’s Municipalities and Regions (SKR).
– Jönköping County returns with good examples and good experiences. This is due, in my opinion, to constantly thinking about how to improve for the patients, said Health Care Minister Acko Ankarberg Johansson (KD), who praised the work to find models for cooperation between Region Jönköping County and the county’s thirteen municipalities, which resulted in in a joint leadership program for top managers.
Based on the best interests of the patient
Good and close care can be described as an overarching goal for the change taking place in health care, where primary care is the hub. The change aims to have care organized and conducted to a greater degree based on the patient’s needs and conditions – work in which Region Jönköping County is considered to be at the forefront.
In addition to the collaboration, the minister and SKR’s representatives also learned more about the structured work with documented agreements for patients and seamless care transitions, two initiatives that are now being spread nationally through Sweden’s Municipalities and Regions (SKR). In Jönköping County, we often talk about the fictitious patient Esther and assume what is best for her.
Efforts need to be coordinated
– What is good close care is, after all, Esther – how it is good for the patient and how we get the system more coordinated so that it fits together for those who need care in different ways. Nationally, we have taken decisions and documents in the Riksdag that this is how healthcare should work for everyone in Sweden, said Acko Ankarberg Johansson, who through her visits wants to contribute to spreading good examples around the country.
– I want all patients who seek health care to be cared for according to their needs, but also that the efforts are coordinated. The efforts are rarely coordinated in the best way. We have to make sure of that, both for the patients’ sake so that they can feel secure that they are taken care of, but also for the common good. If the resources are to be sufficient, we must succeed in that coordination.
Want to spread good examples
Business managers and representatives of the top management in Region Jönköping County participated in the talks. Managers at various levels in municipal operations, as well as representatives of Municipal Development, also participated. From SKR, Johan Kaarme, director of the department for care and social care, and Lisbeth Löpare Johansson, national coordinator for the transition to good and close care, participated. Rachel De Basso (S) participated in dual roles, both as chairman of the regional board in Region Jönköping County and chairman of the healthcare delegation at SKR.
– It was a very good morning. It is important to show good examples. I am happy that we were able to highlight how important it is with collaboration between the region and the county’s thirteen municipalities at all levels and that what we do is always based on the patient’s needs and what is best for Esther, said Rachel De Basso. Based on my role as chairman of SKR’s healthcare delegation, I feel that it is important that we, as the member organization of the regions and municipalities, work more to show good examples, but also that the members really take advantage of what is available. Here, SKR plays an important role in removing central obstacles and spreading success factors.
Long-term work
Regional Director Jane Ydman and Director of Health and Medical Services Mats Bojestig were happy about the meeting and appreciated the opportunity to present the change that is now underway in Region Jönköping County.
– I am very happy that the Minister of Health takes the time to listen, where we had the opportunity to describe all the roles that are needed to make the transition to good and close care together, at different levels. It requires both trust and good relationships, said Jane Ydman.
– It is fantastic to live in a country where we can meet government representatives in such an open conversation and that it continues along the same lines, regardless of the outcome of the elections. In the matter of the transition to good and close care, there is a long-term perspective. The processes are long and then it is valuable that there is also a political long-term perspective in the work, Mats Bojestig pointed out.
“Clear system leadership”
Chief physician Pierre Cherfan, who works with seamless care transitions, described how important it is that the right efforts are made from the beginning. Every fifth kroner is added because we didn’t do it right from the beginning, he said. Göran Runesson, operations manager for Bra Liv Rosenlund’s care center, described how the culture in the county led him to create ground leader, a forum where managers at Bra Liv Rosenlund’s care center and the municipality’s home health care team in the area meet on common issues related to home health care.
– It has been an extremely rewarding morning and a great joy that Jönköping, which has come so far with the transition to close care, was able to tell its stories. It was a clear system leadership that was manifested in the room, with new working methods that really make a difference in the transition to close care, said Lisbeth Löpare Johansson, national coordinator for the work.
Anette Nilsson, development strategist in Region Jönköping County and project manager within Close Care at SKR, agreed:
– It is so valuable that together we had the privilege of telling our invited guests about everything we are doing in the transition to Close Care. Their feedback and confirmation that we have come a long way gives us energy in our continued work.
