Swedes not happy with their healthcare – many feel that it’s become poorer, slower and more unequal
[Stockholm, Sweden, February 17, 2021.] Swedes have become much less satisfied with the state of their healthcare in the past years. They think the general quality is lower, and that the care is slow and unequal. That is the findings of a new study commissioned by healthcare company FRISQ. On a scale between one and ten, Swedes give their healthcare system a grade of just under seven.
No less than 30 percent of those surveyed feel that they do not receive the care they need, and 37 percent say that they do not receive care within a reasonable time. Only one in seven Swedes states that they always receive care within a reasonable time.
One in five Swedes believes that Swedish healthcare has improved in the last ten years. Twice as many, 39 percent, think it has got poorer. The rest think it is of the same quality as before.
On a scale between 1 and 10, only one in five Swedes rates their national healthcare at 9 or 10. More than one in four Swedes rates the healthcare at a score of 5 or lower. The average rating is 6.79.
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Men, urbanites and people with sharp elbows and money get better care
When asked if they believe that healthcare is equal in Sweden, only one in three Swedes answered "yes". One in four Swedes thinks that those with contacts and sharp elbows receive better care, and just as many believe that those with money receive better care. A large proportion of those surveyed believe that city dwellers receive better care than residents in rural areas, that men receive better care than women and that younger people receive better care than older people.
A large majority of the respondents want greater participation in their treatments, above all better information about their treatments, health condition and diagnosis. There is a demand for digital care tools to achieve this.
“Room for improvement”
“A grade of less than 7 is not good enough for a system that every Swede expects to be absolutely world class,” said George Thaw, CEO of FRISQ. “So there is definite room for improvement. But I also note that the Swedes are not dissatisfied with the care itself, but with a lack of accessibility, queues, pre- and aftercare, communication etc. We are faced with administrative system errors, not lack of care skills.”
“The demand for care and the cost of it is increasing faster than GDP, for several different reasons. It is thus in principle impossible to meet the increasing need for care by adding more resources. The only reasonable way to deal with this challenge is by streamlining operations and increasing productivity, and here digitalization of healthcare is a key factor.”
The survey measured Swedes' attitudes to health care and was conducted by FRISQ with the help of the survey company Netigate at the end of January / beginning of February. The number of respondents was just over 2,000. FRISQ develops solutions for digital care plans.
Read more about the survey here and to download images.
The same survey also shows that more than half of the respondents state that they have refrained from seeking care or been denied care during the past year, despite the fact that they have felt a need for care. A majority of Swedes say that they intend to seek care as soon as the pandemic is over, which indicates that a large "care debt" has been built up.
For more information please contact:
Peter Karaszi
PR and IR Manager, FRISQ
Email: peter.karaszi@frisq.se
Tel: +27 83 243 57 97
About FRISQ
FRISQ is a medtech company based in Sweden that aims to be the leading force in the digitalization of care plans. Its FRISQ Care software solution allows for the sharing of information between caregivers and patients through the same platform. FRISQ has been listed on Nasdaq First North – Stockholm since 2016 under the ticker "FRISQ".