Priorities in public health work

The plan sees healthcare as part of a broader public health effort and requires that the state takes greater responsibility for creating equal conditions throughout the country. Clarified state responsibility and targeted measures for groups with the poorest health respond to the requirement for equal and equitable healthcare regardless of location. The plan does not state its position on a specific public health act, so the form is derived from the responsibility principle.

• comprehensive public health effortsdecisive»Vården behöver ses som en del i det bredare arbetet med folkhälsa.« (party programme ↗)“Healthcare needs to be seen as part of the broader work on public health.”
• greater state responsibility»Lösningen är inte att förstatliga sjukvården men för att säkerställa en jämlik vård i Sverige måste staten ta ett större ansvar för att skapa lika förutsättningar.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The solution is not to nationalize healthcare, but to ensure equal healthcare in Sweden, the state must take greater responsibility for creating equal conditions.”
• equal healthcare throughout the country»Sjukvården måste vara jämlik, jämställd och tillgänglig, oavsett var i landet du bor och oavsett vem du är.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Healthcare must be equal, equitable and accessible, regardless of where in the country you live and regardless of who you are.”

The plan's goal is equal and equitable public health and increased state responsibility for national equivalence in healthcare. A clearer state responsibility in law, national targets and directed health communication to groups with poorest health is directly in line with this, as is the requirement for ambitious measures against mental health problems. The plan however does not state a position on a special public health law.

• equal public healthdecisive»Jämlik och jämställd folkhälsa.« (party programme ↗)“Equal and equitable public health.”
• increased state responsibility»Ökat statligt ansvar och kontroll över sjukvården för nationell likvärdighet.« (party programme ↗)“Increased state responsibility and control over healthcare for national equivalence.”
• care according to need»Lika rätt för alla till god hälso- och sjukvård genom samhällets försorg.« (party programme ↗)“Equal right for all to good health and healthcare through public provision.”
• measures against mental health problems»Ambitiösa insatser mot psykisk ohälsa, särskilt bland barn och unga.« (party programme ↗)“Ambitious measures against mental health problems, especially among children and young people.”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The plan establishes that public health is crucial for an equal society, that health gaps grow with socioeconomic background and that policy must take early action. It also wants to see increased cooperation between actors because healthcare alone cannot prevent disease. Clearer state responsibility, mapping and targeted health communication to groups with the poorest health follows from this.

• public health requires political leadershipdecisive»Folkhälsan är avgörande för ett jämlikt och fungerande samhälle och därför måste politiken sätta in tidiga insatser och skapa förutsättningar för god hälsa genom hela livet.« (party programme ↗)“Public health is crucial for an equal and functioning society and therefore policy must take early action and create conditions for good health throughout life.”
• growing health gaps»Klyftorna i hälsa och välmående växer. Socioekonomiska faktorer påverkar i hög grad människors livslängd och hälsotillstånd.« (party programme ↗)“Health and wellbeing gaps are growing. Socioeconomic factors significantly affect people's life expectancy and health status.”
• cooperation for public health»Vi vill se ökad samverkan mellan olika aktörer för att uppnå en god folkhälsa, då vården i sig ensamt inte kan förebygga sjukdomar.« (party programme ↗)“We want to see increased cooperation between different actors to achieve good public health, since healthcare alone cannot prevent disease.”
• health-promoting orientation»Miljöpartiet vill att vården ska bidra till hälsa, inte bara behandla sjukdom.« (party programme ↗)“The Greens want healthcare to contribute to health, not just treat disease.”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The election manifesto establishes that responsibility for healthcare must not be moved from the regions to the state and that decisions must be made near those affected. The counter-proposal wants to investigate a special law with clear state responsibility that governs the division of responsibility between levels and let public health work weigh more heavily in the distribution of state grants, that is, centralisation. The plan shares the goal of preventive public health work but rejects the state-driven route.

• no state takeover of healthcaredecisive»Vi vill försvara valfriheten inom vård och omsorg och bedriva verksamheten nära vårdtagarna. Ansvaret för vården ska inte flyttas från regionerna till staten.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“We want to defend freedom of choice in healthcare and care and conduct activities close to care recipients. Responsibility for healthcare must not be moved from the regions to the state.”
• decentralisation»Decentralisera mera. Människor ska få bestämma mer själva, och politiska beslut ska fattas nära dem som berörs.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Decentralise more. People should be allowed to decide more for themselves, and political decisions should be made near those affected.”
• preventive public health work»En förutsättning för en hållbar välfärd är ett förebyggande förhållningssätt. Folkhälsoperspektivet måste genomsyra hela samhället för att ge resultat.« (party programme ↗)“A prerequisite for sustainable welfare is a preventive approach. The public health perspective must permeate the whole of society to produce results.”
• power near the people»Decentralisering handlar om att flytta makten närmare människors vardag.« (party programme ↗)“Decentralisation is about moving power closer to people's daily lives.”

The plan states that mental health shall be an explicit public health goal and that care needs increased national coordination and steering to strengthen equality. It also wants knowledge about the importance of lifestyle habits to be communicated broadly from school age and up. This speaks for investigating a clearer state responsibility and a strategy for health communication to groups with the worst health, even though the plan does not take a position on a particular public health law.

• national public health goalsdecisive»Psykisk hälsa ska vara ett uttalat folkhälsomål.« (party programme ↗)“Mental health shall be an explicit public health goal.”
• clearer state responsibility»Det behövs en utökad nationell samordning och styrning.« (party programme ↗)“There is a need for increased national coordination and steering.”
• knowledge-based public health work»Folkhälsoarbetet och de förebyggande hälsoinsatserna ska vila på kunskap och respekt för individens självbestämmande.« (party programme ↗)“Public health work and preventive health initiatives shall rest on knowledge and respect for the individual's self-determination.”
• health communication and knowledge»Kunskap om hur de egna levnadsvanorna påverkar hälsan ska förmedlas från skolåldern och uppåt.« (party programme ↗)“Knowledge about how personal lifestyle habits affect health shall be communicated from school age and up.”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The election manifesto wants to abolish the regions' responsibility for healthcare and let the state take over with a unified organization, which is precisely the clear state allocation of responsibility the counter-proposal seeks. The party programme also states that public health work must not be limited to healthcare and that healthcare must be equitable for the entire population, which supports the requirement for national targets and targeted health communication to groups with the poorest health. The counter-proposal is supported.

• state principal responsibility for caredecisive»Avskaffa regionernas ansvar för sjukvården. Låt staten ta över ansvaret för vården med en gemensam organisation i stället för 21 olika.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Abolish the regions' responsibility for healthcare. Let the state take over responsibility for care with a unified organization instead of 21 different ones.”
• broad public health responsibility»Folkhälsoarbetet får därför inte inskränkas till hälso- och sjukvården utan kräver ett gemensamt ansvarstagande och samverkan mellan olika samhällsaktörer.« (party programme ↗)“Public health work must therefore not be limited to healthcare but requires joint responsibility and cooperation between different societal actors.”
• equitable care»Vården ska vara jämlik och tillgänglig för hela befolkningen.« (party programme ↗)“Healthcare must be equitable and accessible to the entire population.”
• social conditions determine health»Sociala och ekonomiska villkor, arbetsmiljö och levnadsvanor är viktiga faktorer för hälsoutvecklingen.« (party programme ↗)“Social and economic conditions, work environment and living habits are important factors for health development.”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The party programme states that not even world-class healthcare can replace one's own engagement in one's own health, and that decisions should be made at the lowest effective level where regions can choose different paths. A new special public health act with state responsibility and steering of state grants goes against both these commitments. The plan also wants politics to prioritize and choose not to do things rather than build out new commitments.

• personal responsibility for healthdecisive»Men inte ens en sjukvård i världsklass kan ersätta det egna« (party programme ↗)“But not even world-class healthcare can replace one's own”
• decisions at the lowest effective level»Det politiska systemet ska bygga på att beslut fattas på lägsta« (party programme ↗)“The political system shall be built on decisions being made at the lowest”
• prioritize and choose not to do things»Politiken har en viktig uppgift att prioritera och välja bort,« (party programme ↗)“Politics has an important task to prioritize and choose not to do things,”
• limited state role»En stor stat leder till ett svagare samhälle.« (party programme ↗)“A large state leads to a weaker society.”

The plan requires clear national driving governance in the public health field with a strengthened role for the Public Health Agency and a unified, long-term plan instead of individual and short-term expenditures. The counter-proposal's requirement to investigate a special act with clear state responsibility, national targets and clearer division of responsibility between levels follows from this. The plan furthermore wants to review a greater state overall responsibility for healthcare.

• national driving governancedecisive»Sverigedemokraterna förespråkar därför en tydlig nationell pådrivande styrning där Folkhälsomyndighetens roll förstärks och förtydligas.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The Sweden Democrats therefore advocate clear national driving governance where the Public Health Agency's role is strengthened and clarified.”
• unified long-term plan»Sverige behöver en samlad och långsiktig plan för att hantera den växande psykiska ohälsan.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Sweden needs a unified and long-term plan to handle the growing mental ill-health.”
• national health strategy»Ta fram en nationell strategi för det fortsatta arbetet med psykisk hälsa« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Develop a national strategy for continued work on mental health”
• increased state overall responsibility»Sverigedemokraterna vill också se över hur staten i större utsträckning kan ta över huvudansvaret för sjukvården, med utgångspunkt i framgångsrika exempel i Norge och Danmark.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The Sweden Democrats also want to review how the state to a greater extent can take overall responsibility for healthcare, based on successful examples in Norway and Denmark.”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.