The region decided to open 12 more closed psychiatric care places at Sunderby Hospital in early February, according to official sources. There are currently a total of 36 closed psychiatric care places at the hospital, the region said. Operations manager Sara Markinhuhta sees positive effects from opening more closed psychiatric care places, though the specific positive effects observed have not been detailed. The reason for not opening the places earlier was due to staffing shortages and alarm system issues, the region reported, with details of the alarm system issues remaining unclear.
The psychiatric care unit is currently fully staffed with assistant nurses and care assistants, according to operations manager Sara Markinhuhta. However, the psychiatric care unit still lacks nurses, which has been addressed with temporary staff, Markinhuhta said. She noted, 'Currently, we would need about twice as many as we have,' though the exact number of nurses currently lacking at Sunderby Hospital's psychiatric care unit has not been specified. The timeline for addressing the nurse shortage beyond using temporary staff is also unknown.
Sara Markinhuhta wants the budget for psychiatric care in the region to be reviewed, official sources indicate. She stated, 'One can calmly state that psychiatry has had a fairly static budget over very, very many years,' but the current budget for psychiatric care in the region and how it compares to previous years has not been disclosed. Markinhuhta added, 'It is nothing that the operation itself thinks 'we get money' but it is something that happens at the political level,' highlighting the broader financial considerations.