Former nurse argues uniformed healthcare workers should get queue priority
Inga-Lill Söderlund, former emergency staff and district nurse, responds in a debate on healthcare workers' daily challenges. She supports the idea of uniformed personnel getting priority in food queues and calls for empathy. Society used to handle such considerations naturally, she writes.
In a response letter to Dagens Nyheter, Inga-Lill Söderlund argues that uniformed healthcare workers should receive priority in queues at grocery stores and express checkouts. She endorses Maksim Skut's proposal, calling it excellent, and counters Kalehla Larsson's objection that such staff can plan their time like other professional drivers.
Söderlund outlines the demanding realities for healthcare workers with specific examples: an emergency call can ruin the chance to eat lunch at the station, a hectic day forces eating in the car, and returning to heat food is often impossible. After night overtime, staff rarely have energy to cook at home before the next shift. Lunch breaks are short, typically 30 minutes, and queues consume most of that time.
Previously, healthcare workers had priority at pharmacies, which Söderlund views as justified. As a district nurse, she frequently had to skip lunches while queuing for medications for patients or nursing homes. Nowadays, fewer people show consideration for uniformed staff, she notes.
She urges Swedes: "If you see healthcare workers in line, let them go ahead! They're not there because of poor planning; assume they have no alternatives." Uniformed personnel lack scheduled lunches and canteens, and eating in the car may be their only option. Söderlund stresses the need for empathy from those who can better manage their schedules.