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Information about THE SUPERVISORY ORGANISATION(s) in

 

1. COUNTRY/REGION:

Website of the supervisory organisation:

www.ivo.se

 

Is this website in English or partly in English?

Partly in English.

 

Contact person(s)

 

Name and function

Klas Öberg

Head of Department

 

Address

Box 45184

104 30 Stockholm

Sweden

 

Email

klas.oberg@ivo.se

 

Telephone number

+46-10-7885680

 

Mobile phone

 

Name and function

 

Address

 

Email

 

Telephone number

 

Mobile phone

 

 

2. THE STRUCTURE OF THE SUPERVISORY ORGANISATION(s)

The Head of the Supervisory Organisation (name and function).

Gunilla Hult Backlund, Director General

 

Size of the Supervisory Organisation: About 700 employees.

 

Number of inspections/supervisions or number of inspectors or number of full time equivalents of people working in the organisation; number of hospitals or health institutions under supervision

In the course of one year, work at IVO results in about 20 000 supervision decisions, we make about 3 300 inspections, we have about 450 inspectors, and we supervise about 22 000 health care organisations.

 

Number of people working in the organisations

Number of licensed health care personnel is around 265 000.

 

Other relevant information about the Supervisory Organisation in your country or region

The Health and Social Care Inspectorate (IVO) is a government agency responsible for supervising health care, social services and activities under the Act concerning Support and Service for Persons with Certain Functional Impairments (LSS).

IVO is also responsible for issuing certain permits in these areas. Its supervision remit covers the processing of complaints concerning, for example, the reporting of irregularities in health care and social care (called lex Sarah and lex Maria reports) and the municipal obligation to report non-enforced decisions.

 

3. THE SCOPE OF THE SUPERVISORY ORGANISATION(s)

Is there supervision on health care in general?

There is not so much focus on supervisory activities on the general level in Sweden. Most activities focus on inspection activities in for example hospitals.

 

Is there supervision on hospitals

Yes

 

Is there supervision on other health care institutions like nursing homes / convalescent homes?

Yes

 

Is there supervision on the production and the use of medicines?

IVO:s supervision covers the preparation and administration of medicines to patients and users, also at pharmacies. IVO’s supervision covers also medical technology.

The supervisory organization for the production of medicines is Medical Products Agency, https://lakemedelsverket.se/english/ .

 

Is there a supervisory relation with health care professionals? If yes, what kind of relation

IVO has a supervisory relation to health care professionals and can take measures when a professional is not acting in accordance with evidence-based medicine. In some extreme cases the measures can end up in a person being delicensed. If IVO identifies any deficiencies in a professionals practice that represent a threat to the patient, IVO can propose various actions such as, for example, withdrawing the right to prescribe narcotic substances, further advanced training or guidance by another professional. If the deficiencies are extensive, serious or recurring, IVO can propose that the person be delicensed and lose the right to practice their profession. It is the Medical Responsibility Board (HSAN) that takes decisions in all authorization matters concerning licensed health care professionals.

 

Other relevant information about the scope of the supervisory organisation.

Apart from when there are special instructions in statutes or specific assignments from the government, IVO’s supervision shall mainly look at:

·          services where quality and safety are assessed as low and where this may have serious consequences for the population or the individual

·          services that do not have a functioning management system for quality and safety (for systematic quality work) 

·          licensed health care professionals where there are suspicions that the professionals are not practicing their profession in a satisfactory way.

In the area of health care IVO conducts supervision of both services and licensed health care professionals. In the case of the social services and LSS activities IVO only supervises the services.

 

4. METHODS OF INSPECTATION OR SUPERVISION

What methods of inspection or supervision are used in your country/region?

Inspection on-site is one method widely used by IVO. Inspections can be proactive and reactive, pre-announced or unannounced. Most activities are reactive.

There are different methods for carrying out supervision, such as announced and unannounced inspections, desk supervision, collegial supervision, self-evaluation and system supervision. While performing these different types of supervision, various techniques can be used, for example, document reviews, focus groups, observations, conversations with users and patients, private interviews and questionnaires.

Other information about the methods of inspection in your country / region

IVO has a new supervision policy since February 2015. The policy points out that IVO shall focus more on results for service users and patients (outcomes) in its inspections than formal aspects like checking that records are in accordance with legislation (processes). IVO has examples of service users after inspections having developed the formal aspects of its organization like plans and policies without really having raised the quality for their service users or patients. This is where IVO wants to make a change. IVO shall be an organization that will use methods that will lead to raised quality and which will make it possible to identify service providers not giving service users and patients the service that they can expect according to the legislation.

 

 

5. WHAT IS THE COMPETENCE OF THE SUPERVISORY ORGANISATION IN YOUR COUNTRY?

Is the supervisory organisation entitled to use compulsory measures (sanction/repression/enforcement)

Yes.

 

Is the supervisory organisation entitled to take precautions and implement measures to prevent accidents or incidents?

Yes.

 

Does the supervisory organisation have the authority to close institutions or stop non proper healthcare

Yes.

 

Is the supervisory organisation allowed to interfere in other ways? Can remove licence, enforce recommendations for social care centres . If yes, in what way?

Yes.

IVO uses different methods and tools when supervising, both regulatory and supportive. The tools are selected based on the effect which they are anticipated to have on the supervised entities and on the possibilities under the law.

IVO has a number of tools at its disposal to achieve the objective of its supervision, i.e., to ensure that the supervision has the desired effect:

·          injunctions and bans,

·          prosecution,

·          reporting authorised personnel into HSAN,

·          demand measures,

·          criticism,

·          recommendations,

·          conversations,

·          advice and guidance,

·          information,

 

Other relevant information about the competence of the supervisory organisation

The results of the supervision, which may also be positive, are communicated back to the supervised entities so they can learn, and so that deficiencies and abuses are not repeated. As such, supervision contributes towards the development of quality and security within the health and social care services.

IVO follows up the effect of supervision on users and patients.

IVO guides staff in their activities by offering them advice based on previous supervision experience

 

6. INTERESTING ONGOING DEVELOPMENTS IN YOUR COUNTRY/REGION