Lilja Sif Þórisdóttir, a new social worker at the Healthcare Institution of North Iceland in Akureyri, has a lot to focus on in her work. She graduated with a master’s degree in social work from Gothenburg University in the spring of 2018 after taking her undergraduate studies at the University of Iceland. She immediately started working in the healthcare system, first at the Akureyri Hospital, then came to HSN in March last year. The work of social workers is quite new in healthcare in Iceland, so one of the big projects is to shape the work.

“The need for social workers in the healthcare system has been growing rapidly in the last few years since I started in 2018. There is so much that changes in people’s illnesses, not just their health. Thus, a large part of my job involves being a sort of guide for HSN clients in Akureyri through the social system, but it can be difficult to find the right path in a fairly complex system of rights, insurance, benefits and pensions, such as due to childbirth, illness or changes in the situation due to age.”

The health care staff directs cases of clients to Lilja who need such assistance. “We have larger, more diverse and complex cases in the community than before, which leads to the work within the health care system becoming more complex. As a result, it is good to have more professionals, such as social workers, within the system and to be able to form this interdisciplinary approach.”

New teamwork in the healthcare system improves service to clients

Lilja Sif is the project manager for implementing new team work at the Akureyri health clinic, but she also serves as an advisory partner in this work. “Healthcare professionals at the clinic have been divided into four teams, but all residents of the area are to be part of one health team. The main goal is to ensure that all clients, whether they have a GP or not, receive more continuous services. With this arrangement, more healthcare professionals are more informed about the situation, cross-sectoral cooperation increases and we can provide clients with more secure and efficient services.” This project has just begun but is very promising.

Support for ME patients at the Akureyri Clinic

Last but not least, Lilja is part of a new team on behalf of HSN and the Akureyri Hospital called the Akureyri Clinic, a new knowledge and counselling center for ME patients, which was officially established on 16 August. The Akureyri Clinic’s mission is to improve understanding of the ME disease and related diseases and to help improve service to patients. “This is a much needed project, already the team has received over 120 patients for diagnosis who have long-term residual COVID and/or ME.”

Patients with ME often have severe impairment in functioning. Lilja’s work as a social worker at the clinic is therefore very important because the status of ME patients does not just affect the healthcare system, but also the social system. She takes part in diagnostic interviews with doctors and nurses and follows them up with assistance, but inevitably issues related to the social part need to be resolved. “This is not an easy interview, we are meeting people who have lost their health and even their means of support. After the rights from employers and even the union have been exhausted because of long-term illness, the social system needs to take over and that’s where I come in for our clients. The goal is to intervene as soon as possible in this difficult process and to provide them with resources to become as active in society as the body offers.”

The dream position is in the healthcare system

Lilja was in the last year of High School in Akureyri when she listened to a lecture from a social worker and the interest immediately started. “I didn’t know what social worker was before this lecture, which perhaps shows how important such job presentations are. I didn’t initially set out to work in the healthcare industry and the specialization somewhat reflected that, but I would not want to be anywhere else. It’s so rewarding to work to help people in a changing situation in their lives.”