Undersköterskan Anna Brandenberg's Outcry: A Call for Change in Home Care

The tipping point came for assistant nurse Anna Brandenberg during the Christmas holidays of 2023. In a widely discussed article, she expressed her frustration with the home care profession.

– I realize it's powerlessness I feel. I feel replaceable, my words and credibility have been questioned to the point that I've become ill, she says in Sommar i P1.

When assistant nurse Anna Brandenberg, 49, hit a wall in 2016, she made herself a promise: not to work herself sick.

She quit her job and started anew. Two years later, the symptoms of burnout returned.

– It's as if stress is a rule in healthcare. That's why I fall into it, time and again, despite doing everything I can to prevent it, she says in Sommar i P1.

She has worked as a nurse since 2004 and has many stories of understaffing, poor planning, and micromanagement.

Additionally, there are many examples of poor attitudes from managers. For instance, when she requested a scheduled morning break, she was told, "It stands out too much if home care staff sit and drink coffee during work hours."

The Tipping Point

On Christmas Day 2023, the tipping point was reached. Anna Brandenberg had come home from a stressful workday and began writing.

"I love my job in home care even though I can barely make ends meet. The work is considered simple, but I know it's the most complicated profession there is."

It became an article in Kommunarbetaren. Expressen's debate page reached out and wanted to publish the text. DN wrote about it in their editorial, and Anna Brandenberg was interviewed on Sveriges Radio. It gained enormous traction, and this year she was named one of Expressen's Women of the Year 2025.

Now she offers concrete suggestions to improve the working environment in home care.

She wants to see the elimination of the waiting day, scheduled breaks for home care staff, an end to micromanagement, and better equipment.

– I have often wanted to leave the profession, but it's curiosity that keeps me staying, she says.