A female ambulance nurse was killed in connection with an emergency call in Harmånger in Nordanstig municipality on Saturday. The man suspected of the attack had only two days earlier threatened the staff of another ambulance, according to information with a baseball bat.
After the incident, the issue of so-called "flagging" of certain addresses and individuals has become relevant again, i.e. a system for warning ambulance staff before they respond to places with known risks of threats or violence.
This would in any case require a change in the law.
"Used rarely"
According to Minister of Health Elisabet Lann (KD), there are already measures in place today that can provide improved protection. This includes giving ambulance staff access to patient records.
Much of this requires no changes in the law at all. But it has been shown that it is used very rarely and many are not even aware that the possibilities exist, she says.
So it is incredibly important that the regions now use the opportunities that are in place. Because we cannot just wait for new laws.
At the same time, the National Board of Health and Welfare has expressed doubts about flagging.
Flagging has some challenges associated with it, including the fact that there may be some legal obstacles. We propose a number of other measures that we think should be considered first, says department head Mattias Fredricson.
"Existing law"
The National Board of Health and Welfare recommends, among other things, giving ambulance staff access to inpatient records, which is already being done in, for example, Region Kronoberg.
Then they can see that a person, for example, has been treated for serious mental illness or has recently been discharged. This would increase the information that staff have to make as accurate a risk assessment as possible, says Mattias Fredricson.
Elisabet Lann does not rule out introducing flagging either.
The most important thing is that people who work to save lives, they should not have to risk their lives at work. So we are prepared to consider all proposals, she says.
But we must also ensure here and now that we use the scope that exists in the existing law.
