According to Ida, who has a long history in adult psychiatry across Gällivare, Luleå, and Piteå, her experience at Sunderby Hospital involved incorrect medication, missed entries in medical records, and staff without time to listen. She was admitted for inpatient care in late 2025, where she witnessed both patients and staff feeling unwell due to the environment. " She added, "Sunderby has always been 'high chaparral'.
" During her care, there was too little staff, requiring the opening between the general psychiatry and addiction center departments. Ida described new staff constantly coming in and "definitely do not have time to sit down and talk. " Unit manager Göran Nilsson at Sunderby's acute psychiatry provided an official statement, noting that risk assessments were always made before opening the departments.
I was offered drugs three times by three different patients.
He said, "We have thought about patient safety there, and now we have opened four care places for addiction psychiatry on a separate department. " Nilsson also stated that drugs being brought into the departments has not been a problem on a large scale, contradicting Ida's account of being offered drugs. Ida has now lost trust in the region's care and has instead received external help, looking hopefully to the future.
The specific measures to address staff shortages at Sunderby Hospital remain unclear, as does how widespread issues like incorrect medication are in Norrbotten's psychiatry.
Sunderby has always been 'high chaparral'. There have been riots and sometimes one has not known who is staff and who is patient because it has been so messy.
New staff constantly came in and they definitely do not have time to sit down and talk. It is no treatment, but I experience it as preservation.
We have thought about patient safety there, and now we have opened four care places for addiction psychiatry on a separate department. So we have solved what has been.
I am so relieved to have survived myself in that environment.