In English

Örebro County Council - a meeting point

Örebro County Council operates on a regional level. The County of Örebro with its 274 000 inhabitants who live in 12 municipalities is the main area of responsibility for the Örebro County Council. The County Council is a meeting point of many different kinds - for people, activities and skills. Its principal concern is the provision of health and medical care. Health and medical care is a principal concern About 85 per cent of the County Council's activities are devoted to health and medical care services. Other major concerns of ours are public dental care and support and services for the disabled. Regional Development As a flourishing trade and industry is a prerequisite for being able to offer

good health and other community services, the County Council is also involved in a number of areas that are of importance to the County,including public transport, industrial policy, issues relating to Europe and the European Community, the environment, tourism and cultural activities. About 8 800 persons work for Örebro County Council.

Swedish society is governed on three different levels:

1. The State
On the national level there is the Parliament (Riksdagen), the Government (Regeringen) and State bodies such as the Department of Finance, the Department of Social Welfare and the Department of Agriculture.

The County Administrative Board - the State representative in the county.
The County Administrative Board is the State representative in the county. One of the main functions of the County Administrative Board is to direct and coordinate regional planning. Its Executive Committee consists of the county governor and 14 members appointed by the County Council.

2. The County Council - elected by the county residents
The County Council, like the County Administrative Board, operates on a regional level. The County Council, however, is an authority elected directly by the inhabitants of the county. The County Council is responsible for health and medical care, public dental care, support and services for the disabled, education and cultural acitivites. There are about 8 500 employees. The County Council is also the joint owner of certain county companies and foundations, such as the Development Company, County Public Transport and the County Theatre.

3. The Municipal Councils
The municipal councils operate on the local level. The Councy of Örebro has 12 municipal councils. Each municipal council is responsible within its own area for activities such as day nurseries, schools, care of the elderly, housing a s o.

The main task - Medical care

During an ordinary day, 1 800 people visit a doctor in Örebro County. Doctors can be employed by the County Council or work privately. Most patients go to a doctor, a general practitioner, at a Medical Care Centre. More information about Primary Care Services The doctor takes personal responsibility for his or her patients and can deal with most complaints.

Medical Care Centre in each municipality
There are 29 or more medical care centres in our county, at least one per municipality. Here you have a wide range of expertise under one roof - doctors and district nurses, mother and child health care and physiotherapy facilities. Primary care co-operates on a regular basis with the specialists at our three hospitals.

Preventative care and health check-ups
With regular health checkups the County Council tries to detect illness at an early stage. Mammography and smear tests contribute to numerous cases of cancer being diagnosed at an early stage and is subsequent cured. The County Council also provides information about diet and drugs, smoking and sexually transmitted diseases. Financial support is given to sporting and physical activities, thereby contributing to a healthier county.

Treatment guarantee
Acute illness is always dealt with directly. For planned surgery or treatment, the County Council gives a treatment guarantee. This means that no patient will need to wait more than three months (in certain cases one month) for treatment after the decision for surgery or treatment has been made. If the County Council medical service cannot manage this, you will be offered treatment at another medical institution.

Freedom of choise
Living in the County of Örebro, you have a free choice of any medical institution within the county or in the whole country.

Organization of Swedish medical and health care services

Medical care is divided into primary care, county care and highly specialized care. Medical care centres, infant and maternity welfare centres and district nurse centres all belong to primary care. Primary care treats 85 per cent of the diseases and injuries. It also answers for preventative measures such as health education. If necessary, the general practitioner will refer the patient to a specialist clinic or to a hospital. County care: the hospital will provide for your needs should you require specialist care involving an operation or medical treatment. Psychiatric care also belongs to county care. Highly specialized care: If your illness or injury is complicated or unusual, you will receive highly specialized care. The county councils cooperate in giving specialized treatment. At the highly specialized hospitals, medical doctors are trained and research is carried out.

Responsibility for the elderly

The County Council and the municipalities in the county cooperate to provide the elderly with the best possible care and attention.  The County Council is responsible for providing the services of doctors and offering care at Health Care centres and hospitals.

Since 1992 the municipalities have been responsible for home medical care and the nursing homes, although even there the County Council provides the services of doctors. Each of the three County Council hospitals has a geriatric clinic for care and rehabilitation. The aim is to rehabilitate the patients when possible so that they can return home. For patients who do not need twenty-four hour hospital attention there are wards for daytime medical care. These wards provide physiotherapy, occupational therapy and testing of technical aids. Outside the geriatric clinics, the municipalities are responsible for day care.

Highly specialized medical care

There are three hospitals in the County of Örebro: Universitetssjukhuset Örebro (Örebro University Hospital) and the county hospitals in Karlskoga and Lindesberg. The hospitals receive patients from the whole county, and in the case of

the Örebro University Hospital, from the whole of the country, even though they naturally serve as local hospitals in their own areas. All three hospitals have surgical, medical and geriatric clinics as well as X-ray departments. Specialist services such as hand surgery, thoracic surgery and occupational medicine are only found, however, at Örebro University Hospital.
More information about Örebro University Hospital

Emergency attendence
The County Council ambulances are stationed at strategic locations around the county in order to arrive quickly on the scene when an accident occurs. Competent ambulance staff can start treatment immediately at the scene of the accident and thereby save lives. Örebro University Hospital also has a helipad for helicopter ambulances for emergency transports.

Highly specialized medical care
The Örebro University Hospital is a centre of highly specialized medical care. A great deal of research, both in medicine and caring sciences, is also carried out here. It is one of Sweden's leading hospitals in occupational and environmental medicine, ophthalmic medicine, thoracic surgery and cancer treatment.

Research
The County Council has created resources for research and an extensive research programme is presently being run within the County Council. Stiftelsen för Medicinsk forskning vid USÖ (The Foundation for Medical Research) is responsible for a large part of the research carried out at the Örebro University Hospital.

Help and support

The County Council, in conjunction with the municipalities in the county and other organisations, help people with a disability or with specific needs in order to enable them to live as normal a life as possible.

The County Council Psychiatry and Rehabilitation Department provides support, service and treatment for both children and adults with specific needs. The County Council is responsible in providing support and services for certain groups of physically disabled, child and youth rehabilitation, adult rehabilitation, a sign language interpreting centre and a centre for technical aids.

Dental care

All children and young people in Sweden up to the age of 19 receive free dental care from the County Council Public Dental Service (Folktandvården). The County Council also offers dental care to adults in the county and is responsible for specialist dental care.

About 40 percent of people continue going to the Public Dental Service even after they are 19 years old. Approximately 66 000 children and 82 500 adults are treated each year at some 25 district dental surgeries throughout the County.

Specialist care
The Specialist Dental Service serves the inhabitants of the whole county and offers expert provision in e.g. orthodontics, root treatment and periodontics.

Financing - and how the money is spent
It costs SEK 4,6 billion each year to run the County Council. The work of the County Council is funded mainly through taxes. Out of every SEK 100 a tax payer earns, about SEK 11 is dedicated towards County Council tax. Health and medical care accounts for almost 87 per cent of the County Council´s costs. The County Council contributes to the county´s cultural activities. The County Council supports the County Theatre, County Music, the County Museum, the County Library and other groups such as sports clubs, amateur theater groups. Trade and industry are supported through the Development Company Almi Företagspartner AB. Together with the 12 municipalities the County Council owns the County Public Transport.

Health and medical care 87,2 %
Regional Development 4,4 %
Investments 3,1 %
Dental care 2,5 %
General matters 1,6 %
Research 1,2 %