Government Commissions IVO to Map Deficiencies Among Healthcare Staff Trained in Other EU Countries

The Government is instructing the Health and Social Care Inspectorate (IVO) to investigate whether there are recurring risk patterns among doctors and other licensed healthcare professionals who have been trained in other EU countries. The aim is to strengthen patient safety by identifying deficiencies in professional practice earlier and detecting potential weaknesses in the current system for recognizing foreign qualifications.

The Government has decided to assign IVO to analyze supervisory cases concerning licensed health and medical staff whose Swedish licenses are based on EU rules for the automatic recognition of professional qualifications. The assignment includes, among others, doctors, dentists, nurses, and midwives.

The agency is to develop a method to determine whether recurring risk indicators or patterns linked to deficiencies in professional practice can be identified that may jeopardize patient safety. If such patterns are found, IVO should also propose actions that the agency itself, the government, or other relevant stakeholders could take.

Follows High-Profile Investigation

The decision comes after a public debate following Swedish Radio’s Ekot investigation into Swedish medical students who received their education at English-language medical schools in Eastern and Central Europe. The investigation revealed that several individuals who would not have been admitted to Swedish medical programs later obtained Swedish licenses via the EU system for automatic recognition of professional qualifications.

Ekot was also able to show that some of these doctors were later reported to IVO after serious deficiencies in professional practice and suspicions of risks to patient safety. Minister for Health Care Elisabet Lann (KD) has described this new assignment as a way to identify risks earlier and prevent patient injuries.

Applies to Multiple Healthcare Professions

According to the government’s decision, the assignment is not limited to doctors. IVO is to review supervisory cases concerning all professional categories covered by EU rules on automatic recognition of qualifications. These include, among others, doctors, specialist doctors, dentists, specialist dentists, nurses responsible for general healthcare, midwives, and pharmacists.

The government emphasizes that the same requirements for competence and patient safety must apply regardless of where a healthcare employee received their education. At the same time, they point out the importance of risk-based supervision in order to detect situations where formal qualifications do not correspond to actual professional skills.

Collaboration with the National Board of Health and Welfare

As part of the work, IVO will collaborate with the National Board of Health and Welfare (Socialstyrelsen) and access information including licensing, country of education, language skills, and licensing processes. The analysis will serve as a basis for assessing whether certain risk factors recur in cases where healthcare staff have been reported or subjected to supervision.

The government has previously tasked the National Board of Health and Welfare with analyzing how patient safety can be strengthened and how employers can receive better support in ensuring that newly employed healthcare staff have adequate knowledge and skills.

Reports Through 2029

IVO is to submit interim reports to the government in 2027 and 2028. The final report must be completed no later than September 28, 2029. If the agency identifies clear risk patterns, the results may be used both for national reforms and in Sweden’s ongoing dialogue with the EU regarding quality assurance of healthcare education within the union.