Dödligt virus från Kina orsakar panik (SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19)

/.../Now, increasing numbers of workers are also coming forward to criticise regional healthcare authorities for protocols which they say discourage care home workers from sending residents into hospital, and prevent care home and nursing staff from administering oxygen without a doctor's approval, either as part of acute or palliative (end-of-life) services.

'We were told not to send them in'
"They told us that we shouldn't send anyone to the hospital, even if they may be 65 and have many years to live. We were told not to send them in," says Latifa Löfvenberg, a nurse who worked in several care homes around Gävle, north of Stockholm, at the beginning of the pandemic.

"Some can have a lot of years left to live with loved ones, but they don't have the chance... because they never make it to the hospital," she says. "They suffocate to death. And it's a lot of panic and it's very hard to just stand by and watch."

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How do other countries prioritise patients?

Sweden is not alone in asking healthcare workers to consider the fragility of patients when deciding whether or not to send them to hospital.

But representatives of care homes in other parts of Europe have told the BBC they do not share Swedish critics' concerns about a lack of access to treatment.

In the UK, the National Care Association says it believes care has been available for Covid-19 patients "no matter how old or sick" they are.

The Association of German Aid for the Elderly and Disabled says every patient with coronavirus symptoms is seen by a doctor and there hasn't been a single patient who has not received the care they needed. In some cases, entire care homes have been moved into hospitals. Many homes also keep emergency oxygen on site.

The Danish Nurses Association says that all patients in need of oxygen are currently sent to hospital. This could be reviewed if there is a shortage of ventilators, although age would not affect future guidelines.