I become more fearful the longer I stay in Sweden

I feel more fearful the longer I stay in Sweden, and I question how this country will continue to function over time. I broke down crying today after feeling defeated yet again in trying to contact a health clinic. I have never felt a system work against me so much as what I feel in Sweden, whether it’s setting up a bank account, getting a hold of a nurse at a health clinic, or obtaining a drivers license. Day after day the nearest neurology department’s answering machine says, “Call tomorrow.” Over time a feeling of helplessness develops, and not knowing who to turn to for help. – Lauren Ell, President, Republican Atheists

I have been living in Sweden for almost three years and have grown increasingly fearful after observing Sweden’s system work against me time and time again. This includes everything from communication to administration to doing simple tasks to integrate with Swedish society.

First I will say that I am in Sweden with a working visa. I have jumped through all the hoops to be here legally and have obtained a Swedish ID number (similar to a US social security number). Even with the Swedish ID number, though, I have found Sweden’s system to be very difficult to work with.

It is common to call government agencies, health clinics and even small businesses, and have no one answer the phone. One day I tried to call the local health clinic multiple times throughout the day and the phone line kept hanging up. In another situation, for three days I called the nearest neurology department, and even called right at 8am one day, and the automated answering machine continued to say, “Call tomorrow.” I consulted with a group of Americans living in Sweden to inquire what I should do, and determined to call the main hospital line and force the receptionist to connect me with the neurology department. The receptionist originally told me to call the next day since the neurology department’s line was busy, but I repeatedly told her that no one was picking up and that I wanted to be transferred to the department. Needless to say, something as simple as contacting a health clinic by phone involves planning and can take days. It makes me question what will happen when I have children? Will I be able to find adequate care for them when it is needed? What about when I am older and have more health issues?

I’m not even getting into the subject of waiting time, such as the weeks it takes to obtain simple documents from the health clinic, or the months of waiting to see a specialist. I will just say that everything takes time, and does not work anywhere near as quickly as America’s healthcare system. Sometimes there are delays in the hospitals even for women giving birth, and stories have been published about pregnant women in Sweden being given medication to prolong birth so they can “come back tomorrow.” One of these cases resulted in a miscarriage.

There have been many times where I went directly to a health clinic, bank, or tax agency and was turned away multiple times after being told I need to meet certain qualifications and must have proper documentation, primarily because of incompetence of staff. For example, while trying to obtain a prescription for epilepsy medication (something I MUST have), I was turned away more than three times by the nurses after being told I needed certain documents. Every time I returned with the requested documents I was turned away yet again because, according to them, the documentation was not adequate. It took so long to obtain the prescription that my medication was almost out and I had to demand to see the doctor. Once I shelled out money to see the doctor, I met with him for two minutes where he briefed over the documents and wrote the prescription. I realized the people operating the health clinic had no idea what they are doing and had set up more challenges for me that were unnecessary. You may think it would be better to just call than to go directly to the department, but as I mentioned in the previous paragraph, it is difficult to get someone on the line, and even when someone is on the line, they tend to not be competent.

Another time I went to a bank and requested to open a bank account, but was told that I needed to be employed in order to open an account. I was appalled that I had to have a job in order to do something as basic as handling money in Sweden. I was able to get a job within a couple months, so I returned to the bank with proof of employment, but again I was turned away after being told I needed to meet even more qualifications. This cycle went on, and I finally ended up opening a bank account in Stockholm due to how long the process was taking. Unbelievable! On top of that, many banks in Sweden are no longer handling cash, so people without bank accounts are cornered even more when attempting obtain money that they worked for. I honestly felt like the Swedish bank was stealing MY MONEY from me – money that I worked for! I can imagine the toll this inefficient system has on people who actually have deadlines to meet, like rent.

On a final note, communication is not a priority in Sweden, whether it is at the city level, business level or community level. The locals where I live tend to stay to themselves and I have no idea what is happening in town in regards to construction, utilities being shut off, etc. Earlier this year there were water problems on my road, so the community water company turned off the water for days without notifying us or providing information on where people can go if they need to use the restroom. The company began digging a pit in front of our house to fix the problem, and set debris in front of my neighbor’s driveway that blocked her from leaving. She is elderly and lives alone, and said she had no idea they were going to block her driveway. She could not drive away, did not have enough water to flush her toilet and did not know where to go to use the restroom. I feel that the company endangered an elderly person. I shared what had happened in my community’s local Facebook group and an administrator said, “This isn’t the right place to post this,” as though they want to keep the community appearing happy, and someone else said, “Call the city.” There was no one who sympathized or showed signs of frustration with what had happened. I called the city and they had a lax approach to the problem.

On a final note, it is not just me feeling the strain from Sweden’s inefficient systems. I have spoken with Americans located throughout Sweden who can relate to my experiences. What is the future for Sweden? How will it improve services it provides to citizens, and promote a healthy society and economy?

Lauren Ell is an American blogger born and raised in Southern California and is currently based in Sweden. She discusses Epilepsy, Politics and Fun. Professionally Ell is an Online Marketing Consultant and Virtual Assistant. She is also founder and president of Republican Atheists and GunSafetySociety.org. Connect with Lauren on Facebook and Twitter.