Stockholm hospitals suffer bug epidemic

"People who need care have to be able to dare to seek help and go to the clinic," Chief Medical Officer Sten Jacobsen said.

 

Property manager Locum confirmed earlier this week that bed bugs had been found at St.Göran's psychiatric hospital in Stockholm. Ytterö in Farsta and Grindhuset in Rosenlund have now also discovered the pest.

 

"It is easy to imagine how people feel about this and that they find it very uncomfortable for both staff and patients," said Christina Hallberg, Director of Communications at Locum.

 

According to Hallberg, the firm is now conducting a thorough search for alternative premises so that the clean up can begin. It remained unclear when this would be achieved. Some patients require monitored inpatient care and thus can't be moved just anywhere.

 

According to Sten Jacobsen the staff at St. Göran's are holding up well under the circumstances and neither staff nor patients have been bitten by the blood-sucking parasite.

 

Patients have been offered hospital clothing.

 

While there is an acceptance that bed bugs are a growing problem in society at large, Jacobsen underlined that the key issue in this case is that patients seek help if they are not feeling well.

 

He feared that it could take time to find alternative premises.

 

"There Is a risk of suicide so the premises must be suitable and there are none currently available," he said.