What happened
Only 32 percent of Sweden's municipalities have an up-to-date continuity plan for how health and social care will function during crises such as power outages or major staff shortages. This is shown by Socialstyrelsen's open comparisons. The proportion has increased from 22 percent in one year, but Socialstyrelsen's Director-General Björn Eriksson demands that the work be prioritized and the pace increased. For special housing, 42 percent of municipalities have a plan, while the figure for HVB homes for children and young people stops at 20 percent. The agency is now assisting with training materials and will in the future follow up on why many municipalities lack plans.
Our analysis
It is the municipal leaderships that bear the responsibility for necessary crisis plans still being missing in a majority of the country's operations. The fact that only 32 percent of municipalities have an up-to-date plan means that two out of three municipalities are left without established routines when the power goes out or staff drop out. The reporting highlights the percentages but does not ask the question of who in practice pays the price when crisis strikes: it is the care staff on the floor who are forced to improvise when governance fails. Particularly telling is the figure for HVB homes, where 80 percent of municipalities completely lack planning for vulnerable children and young people under disrupted conditions. Over the coming months, Socialstyrelsen will develop its planning support and analyze why municipalities are delaying.
Explained
A continuity plan is a written plan for how an organization will be able to continue functioning and keep the essentials running even during serious disruptions or crises.
Source: Dagens Samhälle