Response to interpellation 2025/26:258 on equal healthcare for people with Parkinson's disease
Translated from Swedish by AI; the translation may contain errors. The Swedish text is the original.
Summary AI, written in advance
KD argues that the care of people with Parkinson's disease is unequal, but that the government, through a system shift, strengthens the national support to the regions 1. KD emphasizes that Socialstyrelsen's evaluation shows improvements, including regarding access to medicines 2 3, and that the government is working with knowledge management and national action plans to create equal care 2 1. S argues that there are still significant regional differences in diagnostics, treatment, and follow-up 4 and emphasizes the importance of early medical treatment, multidisciplinary teams, and Parkinson's nurses 5. S believes that the causes of the disease are a combination of genetic and non-genetic factors 6. S argues that studies show links to pesticides, severe blows to the head, and type 2 diabetes 6. The goal of research is to slow down the progression of the disease for good quality of life 6. KD argues that too few receive treatment for depression and dementia 7, but that it is too early to say that further interventions are needed as developments within precision medicine are moving fast 7. KD argues that an investment of 150 million kronor annually creates a national structure for the equal rollout of new treatment methods 7.
Written by AI in advance and may contain errors. The numbers lead to the speech a statement builds on; check against the text below.
Sjukvårdsministern Elisabet Lann (KD)
Mr. Speaker! Ewa Pihl Krabbe has asked me if I share the view that the care of people with Parkinson's disease is unequal in the country and if I, in that case, intend to take any measures. She has also asked me if I intend to work towards ensuring that an implementation of the national care program for Parkinson's disease, as established by Socialstyrelsen, will take place.
It was very welcome that the National Board of Health and Welfare in 2022 conducted a review of the guidelines for care for MS and Parkinson's disease. National guidelines support the primary stakeholders in the decisions they make regarding health and medical care. The National Board of Health and Welfare also evaluates the quality of the interventions. An important objective is good and equal care and nursing for everyone.
Socialstyrelsen's latest evaluation of care for multiple sclerosis and Parkinson's disease from September 2025 shows several improvements compared to the evaluation the authority conducted in 2016. This concerns, among other things, access to medicines.
Most people with Parkinson's disease are, according to the National Board of Health and Welfare, receiving disease-specific treatment. As Ewa Pihl Krabbe mentions in her question, the authority identifies in its follow-up that certain differences between the regions persist, including regarding access to advanced treatment as well as follow-up for people who have lived with Parkinson's disease.
The regions, in their capacity as principals for health and medical care, are responsible for ensuring that the requirements for good care are met. The work of providing patient-safe care must therefore be carried out locally in the regions. It appears from the Health and Medical Services Act (2017:30) that where health and medical care is provided, the personnel, premises, and equipment needed for good care to be given must be available. The Health and Medical Services Act also sets requirements that the quality of the operations shall be systematically and continuously developed and secured.
Across the entire country, work is underway to transition healthcare to good and close care where primary care is the hub of care and interacts with other healthcare. The transition aims for care to be organized and conducted to a greater extent with the patient's needs and circumstances as the starting point.
On September 25 last year, the government submitted the bill Next steps for good and close care (prop. 2025/26:19). The proposals primarily aim to clarify the primary care's mission and responsibilities as well as strengthen access to medical competence in municipal health and medical care. The bill is an important step in the ongoing work for equal care that is conducted and coordinated as close to the patient as possible.
Furthermore, at the national level, we are keen to create conditions so that patients, relatives, and healthcare workers can be secure that the best available knowledge is used in every healthcare encounter. The Government and SKR (Sveriges Kommuner och Regioner) have therefore agreed on a common direction for a coherent and purposeful knowledge management for healthcare. The common direction aims, among other things, to contribute to equitable and knowledge-based care through a clearer focus on the implementation of current knowledge.
Overall, I assess that these efforts contribute and will contribute to better care for people with Parkinson's disease.
With that, I would like to thank Ewa Pihl Krabbe for the question. I look forward to the debate.
Ewa Pihl Krabbe (S)
Mr. Speaker! I would like to thank the Minister for the answer. But I perhaps do not perceive that the Minister answered the question directly.
Parkinson's disease is a chronic, progressive neurological disease that affects approximately 2,000 people in Sweden every year. Every day, six new people receive the diagnosis. The disease affects 20,000–25,000 people and their families in Sweden every day. 1 of 20 are under 40 years old when they receive their diagnosis.
Today, Parkinson's disease is the second most common neurodegenerative disease. At least 6.1 million people around the world live with it. Parkinson's has been reported to be the fastest-growing neurological disease in the world, partly due to an aging population.
It has been observed that the number of people living with the disease increased by 22 percent during the years 1990–2016. It will likely continue to increase in the coming years. Several factors are believed to influence this, including the fact that people live longer with the disease today. External factors, such as environmental factors, likely also have an impact on the development of the disease and its rising prevalence.
Thanks to, among other things, Swedish research breakthroughs, there are today good opportunities to treat the symptoms of the disease. But in Sweden, we are far from having adequate and equal care in our elongated country. There are significant regional differences in diagnostics, treatment, and follow-up.
Yes, it is the regions' responsibility to follow the national guidelines that Socialstyrelsen decided on in 2016 and the guidelines that have come later. There are various reasons why it looks the way it does out in the country. It can be about lack of resources, lack of neurologists, absence of Parkinson's nurses and a lot of other reasons.
Regardless of the reason, it is the patients who are affected when the care does not function. There are patients who are extremely well-informed or have relatives who know where and how to seek knowledge and care. Then there are patients who perhaps do not dare to question the care and who perhaps do not manage the digital world. Then it becomes unequal care.
It is important that the government ensures that measures are taken to ensure that care is equitable – for the patients' sake, for their everyday lives, for their opportunities to have a functioning working life, and above all to keep the disease in check for as long as possible so that they can have a good quality of life.
I am pleased that the Minister for Health and Social Affairs is concerned that conditions should be created so that patients, relatives, and healthcare workers can be secure that the best available knowledge is used in every healthcare encounter. It is an important announcement.
It is also good that the government and SKR have an agreement on a common direction for a coherent and purposeful knowledge management for health and medical care, among other things through the implementation of current knowledge. But unfortunately, the patient organization testifies to how unequal it continues to be out in the country regarding both access to medicines and treatments as well as the frequency of healthcare meetings.
Changing structures takes time. I understand that. But it is extremely important to listen to representatives for patients and relatives who live in the situation. Equally important is to keep the debate alive on the issue, just as we are doing now.
I ask the Minister for Health again: Is the care regarding Parkinson's disease unequal in the country?
Sjukvårdsministern Elisabet Lann (KD)
Mr. Speaker! Thank you, the interpellor, for an incredibly pressing question! Equal healthcare is one of the absolutely most important issues for me in my role and for the party I represent, but also for the government. I believe that never before have so many steps been taken to increase state governance and responsibility for healthcare as has been done so far during this parliamentary term. And that work is ongoing.
Just the agreement with SKR on maintaining the knowledge management and the fact that we have reached this agreement is an incredibly important step. Indeed, there have been many steering signals from different sides, which has made healthcare fragmented but also contributed to inequality.
Socialstyrelsen continues to work on developing its operational approach through the state grants distributed by ordinance. This is new from 2025 and continues in 2026. So far, it has been well received. In meetings and in common understanding with each region, agreements are reached on objectives and work methods to be developed in order to receive the state grants.
A lot is happening in the area, and it is because healthcare is unequal. If you thought the answer was unclear there, Ewa Pihl Krabbe, I want to clarify that healthcare is unequal in the Parkinson's area but also within all other healthcare areas.
I would dare to call what is happening during this parliamentary term a kind of systemic shift. In area after area, we are strengthening the national support to the regions. Several action programs and national guidelines have been developed. It is happening in area after area. We have now also initiated a national action plan on the cardiovascular disease area, which has been requested for a very long time. Work is therefore ongoing in several areas, which I am very happy about.
I want to mention a few more examples that are relevant for this specific patient group. Some things were described very well by the interpellor, so I will not go into those. But I will say something about what this means for the patients and their relatives. Some diseases are harder for relatives than others. The Government has tasked the Agency for Health and Social Care Analysis with mapping and analyzing the role and conditions of patient, user, and relative organizations in health and medical care in order to strengthen their opportunities to contribute to the development of care. It is a very important investigation that is ongoing.
The National Board of Health and Welfare has been tasked with proposing a national strategy and associated action plan to ensure effective and equitable rehabilitation, habilitation, and use of assistive devices throughout the country. It is also an area that affects this patient group.
So, things are happening in the field. But I want to be clear that healthcare continues to be unequal. Something the government is also doing is providing funds to the national quality register – 80 million just during 2026. The Parkinson's register, which started as early as 2011, is being expanded, and more and more patients are included in it.
Ewa Pihl Krabbe (S)
Madam Speaker! I thank the Minister for the answer.
As stated previously, it is of very great importance that a patient with Parkinson's receives adequate and early treatment immediately upon diagnosis. The purely medical treatment, with medication treatment of various kinds, is of very great importance, as are advanced treatments such as deep brain stimulation or medication pumps. This treatment requires that there is access to neurologists with special competence who regularly perform check-ups. As far as I understand, this is not the case everywhere.
The Parkinson's Association conducted a survey among its members in 2024. They asked the members: How many times have you met a Parkinson's doctor or neurologist during the last twelve months? Once, 47 percent answered. 35 percent had met a neurologist twice. 8 percent had had no contact at all. It is therefore clear that it looks different across the country, just as the Minister of State says.
Rehabilitation is another part that is important throughout the entire course of the illness. It involves physiotherapy with a focus on balance, strength, and mobility, occupational therapy for everyday life, as well as speech therapy interventions, which are very important for maintaining vocal resources. Depression, sleep disturbances, and cognitive difficulties need to be noticed and treated. Psychosocial support is important both for persons with the disease and for relatives for preventive purposes.
This disease requires many interventions, which demonstrates the need for multidisciplinary teams with neurologists, nurses, rehabilitation staff, and psychosocial competence. From the Parkinson's Association, it is emphasized how important it is with Parkinson's nurses, who can be the hub in the treatment and who follow the patient's treatment needs over time. But that is not how it looks across the entire country. It is important that the regional politicians take this to heart in order to improve care. They naturally need support in various forms from the government, SKR, and the National Board of Health and Welfare.
The bill to strengthen access to medical competence in municipal health and medical care is good, especially for patients in special housing. They are often referred only to primary care doctors in normal cases.
Sjukvårdsministern Elisabet Lann (KD)
Madam Speaker! I don't actually have much to add. I am glad that the interpellor raises the question regarding this patient group. It is perhaps not always the patient group that is heard most in the public debate. One should not underestimate the importance of highlighting needs in order to achieve change. As the interpellor himself pointed out, Madam Speaker, the regional politicians receive support in their work by having the question raised. I think it is important that we have this debate, even if there is not so much to debate – I believe we are very much in agreement on the substance.
As mentioned, the National Board of Health and Welfare evaluated care for MS and Parkinson's in 2025. We can state that the care has improved. I think it is important to highlight that. According to the evaluation, all patients have access to basic medications. But significantly more people with Parkinson's disease need advanced treatment. The proportion of people with Parkinson's disease who receive advanced treatment has increased slightly in recent years. We see that it is moving in the right direction, and we have reason to believe that it will continue to move in the right direction given that there are updated guidelines and that an agreement has been reached through SKR to follow those guidelines.
The more regions that succeed in lifting themselves in this area, the more they can inspire. This is a learning process. We have one step left until the 13 percent of patients who are estimated to be eligible for advanced treatment also receive it. Let us continue to follow the development in order to provide motivation and enable more improvements!
Ewa Pihl Krabbe (S)
Madam Speaker! I wanted to conclude by saying a few words about the research on Parkinson's disease. Just as with most diseases, research is important to prevent or alleviate the disease. The first descriptions of Parkinson's disease were made over 200 years ago. Despite the fact that so many years have passed since James Parkinson described a few people with involuntary trembling movements, there is still much that we do not know about the disease.
The causes of why some develop Parkinson's disease are still not completely clarified. It is known that it is a combination of genetic and non-genetic factors, such as lifestyle and exposure to environmental factors. In studies, a connection has been seen with regular exposure to pesticides, which gives a twice as large risk for Parkinson's compared to those who have not been exposed. The proportion of people who had relatives with Parkinson's disease was in one study higher in the patient group than in the control group – 20 percent and 11 percent respectively. It has also been possible to demonstrate that people who have at some point received at least one severe blow to the head have a 30 percent higher risk of developing Parkinson's disease. We have also known for quite some time that there are links to type 2 diabetes, which gives an almost 30 percent higher risk of developing Parkinson's. Then, of course, very advanced research is also ongoing in many areas at the cellular level. The goal of all research is to slow down the progression of this disease so that one can have a good quality of life.
I would like to conclude by asking the Minister for Health and Social Affairs if she considers that we support research to a sufficient extent nationally regarding this specific disease. Are there measures that the Minister would like to see in the future?
Sjukvårdsministern Elisabet Lann (KD)
Madam Speaker! Once again, I would like to thank the interpellator for highlighting many important parts. The interpellator is on to the connection to other conditions. We see, for example, that far too few people receive treatment for depression and dementia, which often occur in combination with Parkinson's.
When it comes to Parkinson's, precision medicine is an area where a lot is happening, where research plays a major role, and where things are now moving quite fast. I believe it is too early to say that anything additional would be needed. We perhaps should not wait for the development, but we should be expectant – it could be that the development in that specific area will yield results. When it comes to specific precision medicine, we have made a firm commitment of 150 million per year to establish a national structure with an equality perspective, so that the new treatment methods can be rolled out and reach the entire country. I have good hopes that this will help.
Thank you very much for an important debate!
Source: The Swedish Parliament. The speeches come from the open data of the Riksdag, translated into English by AI, which may contain errors.