Spanska sjukan i Säffle och dess närområde : En historisk studie om hur Näs härad klarade av spanska sjukan

Sammanfattning: The purpose of this thesis is to find out how a hundred and its public healthcare system managed the 1918 flu pandemic, with Näs hundred as a case study. Relevant information is found using archived copies of the provincial physician's sent letters, editions of the local newspaper, and death-and-funeral books. Such information includes mortality statistics, which measures were taken, which role the private sector had, and if there was any change within the public healthcare system. The study finds that the Spanish flu stood out from other illnesses and the general state of health. At its culmination in October, hundreds were sick and private workplaces were short of staff. The mortality rate seems to have been around 0.49% of the population, which is a reasonable rate in comparison to other case studies. When the epidemic was at its height, the authorities closed schools and prohibited events that attracted larger masses of people. This was announced through the local newspaper, alongside urges for the people to avoid crowding. Within the public healthcare system, there were no extensive changes, except an increase in workdays, a higher salary and a decrease in the number of nurses. There was a discussion on who should be allowed to be cared for in the epidemic hospital, as this hospital, according to routine, did not care for people with influenza or people from outside the central locality. There is no evidence on how this turned out, but some information seems to suggest that the hospital, or at least the epidemic nurse, did get to care for people with influenza. Nonetheless, it is clear that the public healthcare system could not manage the epidemic, and that the majority of people had to be treated in their homes by a relative or an ambulating nurse. When it comes to actions taken by the private sector, charity funding for the victims is the sole provable action. In contrast to other case studies, there is no evidence of private healthcare or charity organizations that would have cooperated with the public healthcare system. This charity, as well as those measures taken by the authorities, can be seen as consequences of a so-called institutional weakening, which itself would be a consequence of the epidemic outbreak. The outbreak showed that the public healthcare system could not handle an epidemic of this size, which in turn made established routines obsolete, showed that there were holes in the system and legitimized interventions made by the authorities. As a consequence, the aforementioned measures were taken to inhibit the spread of the epidemic and to care for the sick.