This article was originally written in Swedish. Läs artikeln på svenska här.
It is a tragedy that should not have happened in a welfare system: On December 20, 2024—a Friday—a man pressed his social alarm twice to ask for help with his everyday life. He had previously received home care which he decided to terminate in October of the same year due to language barriers. Even though it was clear from his request for help that he was not coping, his social worker failed to act in time. When care staff visited him on the following Monday—December 23—the man was already dead.
This case illustrates a deep systemic flaw in our care for vulnerable people as well as how financial priorities, at times, take precedence over human needs. Why did this man not receive any help despite having a social alarm? Why does the weekend seem to have delayed necessary care efforts that could have saved his life?
Budgets Over Human Lives
We are currently witnessing how home and social care services try to reduce their number of visits and seek to book less staff to keep their budgets in check. Limiting the number of visits and postponing efforts until the next working day reduces workloads. But at what cost? For the man who used his social alarm on December 20, the cost was his life.
Home care services are already under considerable pressure, and it is understandable that they seek to reduce expenses due to limited resources. But when financial decisions lead to people who ask for help being ignored, we have to ask ourselves: What are our priorities? Is it a balanced budget or saving lives? Why are there units tasked with social alarms if we do not listen to the staff who receive these alarms?
I work at the social alarm/ home care service in Lundby, Gothenburg, and I see on a daily basis how our system handles and takes care of our most vulnerable—or fails to do so. The case of the man who was denied help which I recently encountered has stayed with me yet this tragedy is not just an isolated incident but an example of how the system is failing the people it is meant to be there for.
The Weekend as a Brake
In this particular case, the timing shortly before the weekend seems to have played a crucial role. The man rang his alarm on a weekday, but since the weekend was imminent, it seems that his needs were not dealt with as an urgent matter. However, not everything can wait until after the weekend. We must stop pretending that people's need for help takes a break during the holidays. How many care recipients receive help on weekdays only? Welfare cannot work during office hours only because people do not become less vulnerable just because the clock strikes five or there is a red day on the calendar.
If a social alarm does not work as intended, what is it worth? The man in this case had trusted that pressing his alarm would lead to help, but instead, he became a number in the statistics of people who "fell through the cracks."
The Most Vulnerable Are Hit Hardest
This case is particularly tragic because the man had no relatives. It is especially these individuals, who lack a network of their own, that the welfare system must work for best since they often cannot fight for their rights themselves or continuously call attention to their need for help. As someone who has no relatives myself, I cannot help but feel a personally concerned by this. What happens if I find myself in the same situation one day? The thought of not having anyone who can draw attention to shortcomings or remind authorities of my needs is frightening. No one should have to die alone because the system fails.
Who Takes Responsibility?
We have to ask ourselves who is responsible for this man falling through the cracks. Is it the social worker who did not act quickly enough; who first asked by email how urgent the case was instead of directly checking in with the care recipient? Is it the home care service that prioritized budgets and staffing over more visits? Or, is it the system as a whole, where cases often get stuck in slow administrative processes?
Whatever the answer is, it is clear that something needs to change. We need to reassess our routines and prioritize faster interventions to help those who are in urgent need. No one should have to ask repeatedly to get help. What is at stake is not just avoiding more tragic deaths, but protecting the most vulnerable in our society.
A Call for Change
I am calling on decision-makers and those responsible for health and social care to act. We have to ensure that no one is left to their fate because of bureaucratic obstacles or economic cuts. When someone calls for help, we must be able to guarantee that their request and situation are taken very seriously, and that help arrives without avoidable delay. All social workers should answer directly on their work phone and not just by email. Many decisions can be made more quickly when care staff work on-site rather than from home. We need to stop holding on to the assumption that there is no difference between working from home and being on-site.
It is our duty as a society to ensure that no one falls through the cracks. It is time to put humanity before administration and budget and to give our most vulnerable citizens the security and dignity they deserve. All this needs to happen regardless of the time of day or day of the week.
Written by Amr Elhossiny.
Cover image by Danie Franco.