The National Swedish Board of Health [1] (Swedish : Medicinalstyrelsen) was a Swedish government agency between 1878 and 1968, with responsibility for the health and medical services and the pharmacy services. All the activities in the field of public health in Sweden (including medical care) are either operated or controlled by public authorities. Public health is under the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs, the chief of which is a member of the cabinet. The National Swedish Board of Health was the principal instrument of the State for governing, superintending and promoting the activities and the work of the institutions pertaining to this field. The board supervised the medical personnel, the hospitals and the pharmacies and had the direct control of the State Pharmaceutical Laboratory, the State institutions for forensic medicine, a unit for mass radiofluorography etc. [2] The National Swedish Board of Health was dissolved in 1968 and became the National Board of Health and Welfare.
The National Swedish Board of Health originated from a corporation association of physicians in Stockholm, who first received certain privileges on 16 May 1663 under the name of Collegium medicorum (later Collegium medicum), which was confirmed and extended in particular by the so-called medical schemes of 30 October 1688. [3] By letters patent on 27 January 1813, the collegium changed to a real administrative government agency under the name of the Sundhetskollegium ("Health Collegium") and initially consisted of 1 chairman, 1 vice chairman, 2 medical councillors (head of divisions) and 6 assessors, and the senior physicians and professors, who then held membership in the Collegium medicum for life. According to the instruction issued on 6 December 1815, the Sundhetskollegium received the oversight and the board over all that related to the state of health as well as the medical care and the sick care of both the country's inhabitants in general and in the armed forces on land and sea in peace and wartime. [3] As early as 1821, two assessors' offices were abolished, and in 1841 all the other assessors and the vice-chairman, whereas the medical councillors was increased to four. The Sundhetskollegium received a far broader activity than Collegium medicum. Among other things, the obligation to give a statement in forensic purposes, to have control over the veterinary system, the dental and fältskär system, variolation and more, was allowed. However, only in 1876 did the board of directors of the hospital and mental health services (from the Serafimerordensgillet, "Seraphim Order Guild") be transferred to the Sundhetskollegium. From 1878, the agency name change to the National Swedish Board of Health. The state for the new agency was established on 1 June 1877, and instruction for the same was issued 2 November the same year. [3]
Minor changes were done over time, the most important of which occurred on 31 December 1900. The National Swedish Board of Health now consists of 1 chairman referred to as Director General and 5 medical councillors. The Director General and 4 of the medical councillors should be licensed physicians, the fifth medical councillor should be a licensed veterinarian. [3] The staff of the chancellery consisted of 1 secretary, 1 registrar and 3 notaries, and at the accounting office of 2 accountants and 1 treasurer. In addition, the board was assisted by 1 ombudsman and 1 procurator fiscal, 1 chief inspector for mental health care, 1 hospital inspector and 1 architect, and by the necessary number of assistants and temporary officials. For the execution of bacteriological and forensic investigations, the board had at its disposal a state medical institution, the Statsmedicinska anstalten, with a bacteriological and a chemical chemistry department. The National Swedish Board of Health exercised the highest oversight of the general health care system in Sweden and dealt with matters concerning the state's medical health. The board had insight into everyone who was occupied with the expansion of the medical or pharmaceutical sciences, with the exception of university teachers as such, and acted as the national board of Sweden's hospitals and supervised the mental health of the insane in general. [3] In addition, the board had oversight over the hospitals and the cottage hospitals, swimming facilities and other such health centers, as well as the pharmacy system, the midwifery and the fältskär system, as well as the practitioners of the dentistry and physiotherapy activities. The National Swedish Board of Health also had to provide the courts, public and municipal authorities and officials with the information that they wanted and which lie within the area of the board's activities, as well as investigating the forensic issues that arise. Finally, the board had to watch over the epidemic care operations and to exercise the highest level of insight into the variolation and the institutions established for it. [3]
From 1 July 1963, the National Swedish Board of Health was organized under the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs, which was the country's highest administrative body in the field. [4] Its task was then to exercise the oversight over the work of the medical staff, the healthcare agencies and the pharmacy and to have the highest management of the state mental hospitals and other institutions. It was organized in nine bureaus. At its side, the National Swedish Board of Health had various advisory councils and committees taking independent decisions. In addition to the National Swedish Board of Health, some other central institutions operated in the area of general health care. The National Institute of Public Health (Statens institut för folkhälsan) with the main task of conducting scientific-practical investigations and conducting research activities in the areas of general hygiene, food hygiene and occupational hygiene, and thereby constituting a central investigative body for the food control according to the Food Charter. [4] The institute also had to conduct some teaching. Questions about occupational hygiene were dealt with by the Institute of Occupational Health (Arbetsmedicinska institutet). The Central Board of Hospital Planning and Equipment (Centrala sjukvårdsberedningen) had the task to advise on the planning of hospital buildings and their equipment and to work for standardization and rationalization of the hospitals' utensils and operations and the National Bacteriological Laboratory (Statens bakteriologiska laboratorium) with the task of investigating, researching, producing serum, inoculants etc. in the bacteriological, virological and epidemiological fields of human medicine. [4]
As of 1 January 1968, the highest administrative body for health and medical care is the National Board of Health and Welfare, which was formed through a merger of the National Swedish Board of Health and the old National Board of Health and Welfare. [5]
The Ministry of Health and Social Affairs is the ministry in the government of Sweden responsible for policies related to social welfare: financial security, social services, medical and health care, health promotion and the rights of children and disabled people.
The Swedish health care system is mainly government-funded, universal for all citizens and decentralized, although private health care also exists. The health care system in Sweden is financed primarily through taxes levied by county councils and municipalities. A total of 21 councils are in charge with primary and hospital care within the country.
Johan Axel Höjer was a Swedish physician and public servant.
Ministry for Naval Affairs, established in 1840, was at the time one of the eight ministries, in which the Swedish government administration was divided into. The Ministry for Naval Affairs was established in connection with the ministry reform in 1840. Land defence and naval defence affairs, which had previously been dealt with in the War Office (Krigsexpeditionen), was now divided into two different ministries. The two ministries was in 1920 merge into the newly established Ministry of Defence.
The Surgeon-General of the Swedish Armed Forces is the senior medical officer of the Swedish Armed Forces. The Surgeon-General is responsible for the supervision of the Swedish Armed Forces, the Defence Materiel Administration, the Swedish Fortifications Agency and the National Defence Radio Establishment. This includes supervision in the areas of environment, health, nature, sewage, waste and chemicals.
The Medical Corps of the Swedish Armed Forces was a joint administrative corps for military physicians and military veterinarians in the Swedish Armed Forces. It was formed in 1969 by merging the Swedish Army Medical Corps, the Swedish Naval Medical Officers’ Corps and the Swedish Army Veterinary Corps. Its head was the Surgeon-General of the Swedish Armed Forces and was subordinate to the Supreme Commander of the Swedish Armed Forces. The Surgeon-General had at his disposal a staff body, the medical corps office, which was organizationally part of the National Swedish Board of Health (Sjukvårdsstyrelsen). Under the National Swedish Board of Health, the responsibility for the Swedish Armed Forces's health care lied with the military commander.
David Martin Lindsjö, was a Swedish physician. He served as the first Surgeon-General of the Swedish Armed Forces from 1944 to 1952.
The Swedish Army Veterinary Corps was an administrative corps for veterinarians of the Swedish Army from 1887 to 1969. Its task was, in peace as well as in war, to provide army units etcetera with especially trained staff for veterinary positions in the army.
Berga Naval Training Schools was a military branch school for the Swedish Fleet within the Swedish Navy, which operated in various forms from 1946 to 1997. The staff was located at Berga Naval Base in Haninge Garrison in Berga, Haninge Municipality.
The Swedish Naval Medical Officers’ Corps was an administrative corps established in 1902 for military physicians in the Swedish Navy and in the Swedish Coastal Artillery. The corps was amalgamated into the Medical Corps of the Swedish Armed Forces in 1969.
Lieutenant General Sten Wåhlin was a Swedish Army officer. Wåhlin served as Master-General of the Ordnance and head of the Royal Swedish Army Materiel Administration and as chairman of the Administration Board of the Swedish Armed Forces. He was the first Director General of the Defence Materiel Administration, serving from 1968 to 1974.
The Quartermaster-General of the Swedish Army was a general officer who was responsible for the Swedish Army Quartermaster Corps, the quartermaster branch of the Swedish Army.
The Swedish Armed Forces Centre for Defence Medicine is a tri-service military medicine center in the Swedish Armed Forces. Its staff is made up of officers, civilian specialists, group commanders and officer reservists – tasked with ensuring care is provided during peacetime, on international missions, at times of crisis and in combat.
Lieutenant General Lars Göran Persson was a Swedish Coastal Artillery officer. Persson was Chief of the Naval Staff from 1987 to 1994 and Chief of Staff and Military Commander of the Northern Military District from 1996 to 1998.
Lars Gunnar Edvard Nilson was a Swedish physician. Westermark served as Surgeon-in-Chief of the Swedish Navy and head of the Swedish Naval Medical Officers' Corps from 1917 to 1937.
The Ludwik Rydygier Collegium Medicum in Bydgoszcz is an extension of the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń (UMK), aimed at training students in medical sciences.
The Swedish Army Medical Corps was from 1806 to 1969 an administrative corps of the Swedish Army, consisting of military surgeons. In 1969 the corps was amalmagated into the Medical Corps of the Swedish Armed Forces.
The Surgeon-in-Chief of the Swedish Navy was from 1902 to 1969 the senior-most officer and head of the Swedish Naval Medical Officers' Corps, responsible for naval surgeons and the overall medical care in the Swedish Navy and the Swedish Coastal Artillery. The Surgeon-in-Chief was posted to the Naval Staff and reported to the Chief of the Navy.
Abraham Bäck was a Swedish physician who is considered an important reformer of Swedish medical training and the organisation of Swedish medical practice.
The Ministry of Civil Affairs was a ministry in Sweden, established through the 1840 ministerial reform. The ministry and its most important areas of responsibility were agriculture, bergsrörelse, trade, shipping, factories, crafts and other industries, public roads and other communications. In 1920, the Ministry of Civil Affairs was replaced by two ministries: the Ministry of Social Affairs and the Ministry of Communications (Transport). The Ministry of Civil Affairs was re-established in 1950 and then handled the wage and pension system until 1969 when it became the Ministry of Physical Planning and Local Government (Kommundepartementet). In 1983, the Ministry of Civil Affairs was re-established and operated until 1996, when the Ministry of Civil Affairs was transformed into the Ministry of Internal Affairs (Inrikesdepartementet) which was disestablished two years later.