Sweden edition

'Send Swedes to Latvia for operations'

Published: 20 Jan 10 14:13 CET | Double click on a word to get a translation
Online: http://www.thelocal.se/24488/20100120/

The Stockholm School of Economics in Riga is planning to start a Swedish-owned hospital in the Latvian capital in order to raise the standards of the country's hospitals and to remove some of the burden from the Swedish healthcare system.

Sweden's minorities struggle with health (18 Jan 10)
Health officials sent letters to dead children (17 Nov 09)
Every other doctor in Sweden from abroad (30 Aug 09)

Gunnar Ljungdahl, Senior Vice President of the Stockholm school's majority-owned Riga offshoot, believes more education is needed when it comes to the administration of Latvian hospitals and said the Swedish system could function as a benchmark.

“The Latvian system has not improved since the Soviet Union; we could help them to work more effectively,” he told The Local.

The Stockholm School of Economics, a business school ranked 15th in Europe by the Financial Times, has an executive master programme concentrating on health care, Ljungdahl explained.

“Doctors used to be the ones running hospitals but this has changed. You can be a great doctor, but it doesn’t mean you're skilled at administration.”

Apart from aiding Latvia's healthcare sector, Ljungdahl hopes to speed up queue times for Swedish patients waiting in line for operations.

“The queues are long, and this could be a good alternative”.

“People might feel worried about leaving their country for an operation, but if their county council is involved they might feel more secure,” he said.

The Latvian ministry of health has now sent a letter to Swedish social minister Göran Hägglund with a proposal for co-operation.

According to Ljungdahl, Swedish health companies and county councils will be able to invest in the project.

Malin Nyberg (news@thelocal.se)

What do you think? Leave your comment below.


Fark It!	Digg This	Share everywhere
Send to a friend	Printable version	Twitter This

Your comments about this article:

The comments below have not been moderated in advance and are not produced by The Local unless clearly stated. Readers are responsible for the content of their own comments. Comments that breach our terms and conditions will be removed.

15:02 January 20, 2010 by krigeren

Thats a damn good idea.

Report abuse »

15:17 January 20, 2010 by Nemesis

Hopefully this will be organised that the UK national health service debacle.

Report abuse »

17:29 January 20, 2010 by Osk

Health authorities in the south coast England have sent patients for small ops to France for years

Report abuse »

23:24 January 20, 2010 by franny66

Is this a joke?? I work in health care and Sweden is no example to follow, I can tell you give me in the NHS any day. People are talking here about stuff they know nothing about, Swedish doctors have not enough english to be able to read the lancer even..LOL if you say that in western Europe to French, English, Irish, finish or German doctors they will burst out laughing at you..look at a medical program in Sweden and then some program at some solid western country they have oral examinations in Sweden for most subjects and very little lab practice as well.

Report abuse »

10:53 January 21, 2010 by macario

I could give a tip to improve their health system that wouldn't cost much. When my wife got sick and had to spent some time in Stradins Hospital, I noticed that at least half of the patients were walking persons just let hospitalized, bored to be on bed all day, eating food they really didn't liked. They were waiting for results of lab, future appointments or a programmed surgery. Every hospitalized patient is one more charge to the budget, and I think his stay in a hospital could be better asses. I say this because i studied Medicine in my country and usually there, due to the lack of budget and overwhelming number of patients waiting to be treated, doctors are used to do things faster or different. My point is: many of the persons hospitalized don't really have a condition that needs to be solve with weeks and weeks of hospitalization.

Report abuse »

13:10 January 21, 2010 by orre

@franny66 what do you know about Sweden anyway? Oral examinations are seldom used in our school system. The written exam is the standard measure in Sweden. English is almost taught as the second language in Sweden and all children learn it from the age of 7. I think your theory about Swedish doctors having low knowledge in the English language is wrong.

Report abuse »

14:06 January 21, 2010 by franny66

@orre alot more than you anyway go to any medical hall in swden and see how much english the average GP in sweden can manage ask him if they ever attened a conference aborad as well?

Report abuse »

17:22 January 21, 2010 by orre

@franny66 ... well we are at least in the top 10 in the world (2007) based on citations per paper :

http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?storyCode=401514&sectioncode=26

and writing papers means visiting conferences (is Sweden at least).

Report abuse »

Today's headlines

17-year-old dies after ambulance no-show

Swedish emergency response service SOS Alarm has reported the death of a teenage boy to the National Board of Health and Welfare after the ambulance never turned up and his parents had to drive him to hospital. READ (1 COMMENT) »

SKIING IN SWEDEN

Five reasons I can't stand skiing: an Aussie's pain

Having just returned from a ‘horror ski trip’, The Local’s resident Aussie and first-time skier Oliver Gee wonders why Swedes find such pleasure in hurling themselves down snowy hills. READ (7 COMMENTS) »

Disgruntled 'Black Cobra' threatens hairdresser

A man in southern Sweden has been charged with assault after threatening to ‘bring in his gang’ to a local hairdressing salon after being refused a haircut. READ (6 COMMENTS) »

'Drunkorexia' on the rise in Sweden: report

An increasing number of young Swedes are starving themselves by day to be able to binge on calorie-rich alcoholic drinks by night, as a well known phenomenon in the US is becoming more common in Sweden. READ (5 COMMENTS) »

Swedes' anti-gay flyers not free speech: court

Sweden’s Supreme Court was right to convict four men of hate crimes for distributing "offensive" homophobic flyers at a school, the European Court of Human Rights has ruled. READ (4 COMMENTS) »

'Dapper' Stockholm axe man attacks 71-year-old

A 71-year-old was attacked in central Stockholm at the end of January by a “well-dressed” man, threatening to kill him while splitting his skull in two with an axe. READ (6 COMMENTS) »

Stockholm train in violent crash with truck

Several passengers on a commuter train were taken to hospital and the train driver had to be cut loose by emergency services after a train and a truck collided in Stockholm on Thursday morning. READ (3 COMMENTS) »

H&M under fire over Cambodia mass faintings

H&M has been criticized for choosing not to attend a hearing to highlight poor conditions for textile workers in Cambodia, where hundreds of employees at a plant run by the Swedish fashion giant mysteriously passed out in August. READ (5 COMMENTS) »

28/10 Mass faintings at H&M factory in Cambodia »

More Education

20 things to know before moving to Sweden

As diverse as Sweden is, there are a few societal norms that are distinctly Swedish. Understanding a handful of them will hopefully prepare you culturally before you relocate. When you're invited home to a Swede, you better be on time and take your shoes off, writes expat Lola Akinmade-Åkerström. Read more »

How far can English take you in Sweden?

Sweden is a country where almost everyone can speak English. So why bother to learn Swedish? Edina Varnagy from Hungary managed with English for a whole year but then found that Swedish could open doors – to a job, a social life and greater understanding. Read more »

Click here to get more from Follow Sweden

Find a new job in Sweden now

09/02	Falck is looking for a dynamic and dedicated Country Manager Falck TravelCare AB	Stockholm
09/02	Export Sales Manager Idesco AB	flexibel
09/02	Project Planner to Offshore Wind Connections ABB AB	Västerås
09/02	Chemical engineer/ Researcher Nynas	Nynäshamn
09/02	Applications Specialist / Systems Administrator CRM QlikTech International AB	Lund
09/02	Knowledge Manager Global Services QlikTech International AB	Lund

ALL JOBS »

Today's most read Today's most commented

More popular articles »

Blog Update: The Diplomatic Dispatch

07 February 12:55

Queen of Diamonds »

"You know what they say about London buses: you wait ages for one then two come at once. So it is with blogs. This week (6 February, in fact) marks an historic day for Britain. 60 years ago, a young Princess became Queen. It was a Britain very different from today. Still a colonial power in much..." READ »

03/2 14:27 Digital Growth and Flying French Fries (Brits Mean Business)
29/1 22:20 Present on a Sunday afternoon (Julie's Nordic Island)
26/1 17:22 Long time listener, first time caller (Snuggling With the Enemy)

Highlights

LIFESTYLE »

What's On: The Local's guide to upcoming attractions and events in Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmö.

'Send Swedes to Latvia for operations'

Your comments about this article:

In cooperation with DoToday