Today, Sweden became a member of the NATO defense alliance. This means a new phase in civil emergency planning, where care is a central part.
– The membership is a matter for the whole society and it is a central point of departure for the development of total defence. NATO’s expectations are in line with the extensive work that is underway to strengthen health care and social services’ preparedness for crisis and war, says Director General Olivia Wigzell.
For a long time now, Sweden has had close cooperation with NATO and has also participated in joint exercises. This applies to both military and civilian preparedness. The National Board of Health and Welfare’s work on strengthening health care preparedness has also been intensified in recent years.
– Since 2015, the National Board of Health and Welfare has worked with the reconstruction of the civil defense, not least with the 30 or so government assignments that have been assigned to the authority in recent years. The work aims, among other things, to strengthen the ability of health care to receive a large number of injured people in a short time, a so-called worm injury event, says emergency manager Taha Alexandersson.
Preparedness within the sector continues to be strengthened
The National Board of Health and Welfare is the sector-responsible authority for health, care and social care. Together with the other authorities in the sector, the authority strengthens and develops care and care readiness. An important area is to ensure access to medicines and healthcare products and to create national and regional stocks.
NATO membership also means that the healthcare system needs to plan to be able to care for and receive foreign troops who are in, or evacuated to, Sweden. Taha Alexandersson emphasizes the importance of continuing to deal with the challenges that care is facing today. NATO membership does not mean that new issues must be dealt with, but rather a clearer orientation regarding, for example, quantity and geography.
– An increased care capacity in everyday life is a basis for the ability of care and care in crisis and war. Continuity and robustness are based on a functioning everyday life, the better we cope with our everyday situations, the better we will also cope with an unpredictable event. That is why it is important to continue working to resolve, among other things, the lack of care places and the supply of skills, says Taha Alexandersson.
All actors need to plan and practice
With the entry, the National Board of Health and Welfare as the sector-responsible preparedness authority, similar to what is done today for the national civil defense, will lead the work and coordinate measures to plan, together with other NATO countries, how healthcare should be prepared to function in war. NATO also places new requirements on authorities to handle information in a prompt and secure manner. This means that the actors in healthcare need to develop and review technology, organization and digital solutions.
– Strengthening society’s preparedness in crisis and war has the highest priority. The National Board of Health and Welfare creates, with, among other things, knowledge support, orientations for contingency planning and exercises, as well as state grants, the conditions for regions and municipalities to carry out the work. All of us who are actors – business, civil society, municipalities, regions and the state – need to plan, create capabilities and practice. It requires perseverance and everyone is needed in that work, says Olivia Wigzell.
