Drug and Alcohol Rehab Centres in Malmö, Sweden

How do I get public addiction treatment in Malmö?

Public addiction treatment in Malmö is reached through the Skåne region’s psychiatric addiction clinic for adults or through the city’s social services. Adults aged 18 and over can send the clinic a self-referral request, called egen vårdbegäran, so a doctor’s referral is not needed for the first step into regional care.

Social services, run by the city under Sweden’s Social Services Act, are the second public door. The two routes belong to the same public system, so starting with one does not close off the other, and records from both are protected by secrecy rules in chapters 25 and 26 of the Public Access to Information and Secrecy Act.

What does the public addiction clinic in Malmö treat?

The regional clinic in Malmö is a psychiatric specialist service for adults with alcohol or drug dependence, including severe addiction. It is run by the Skåne region as part of public health care and answers on 040-33 16 00, which is the number to call to ask about an assessment or the self-referral form.

The clinic accepts adults aged 18 and over only. Swedish law also treats compulsory care for the young under its own act, LVU, apart from the LVM act that covers adults in certain cases.

Is there separate help for medicine dependence in Malmö?

Yes. In Malmö, dependence on prescription medicines is handled by a separate regional clinic for medication dependence rather than by the alcohol and drug clinic. Someone whose problem is mainly with prescribed sleeping pills, painkillers or sedatives is directed there, so it helps to mention the substance when first making contact.

Both clinics belong to the same regional health care, and the national fee ceilings apply at each of them in the same way.

Is naloxone free in Malmö?

Naloxone is free in Malmö for people who receive it through the Skåne region, which hands it out with training at needle exchange services, addiction care and LARO clinics. LARO is the Swedish name for medication-assisted treatment for opioid dependence, regulated nationally by Socialstyrelsen, the National Board of Health and Welfare.

Naloxone nasal spray can also be bought at any Swedish pharmacy without a prescription, so it is available outside the regional services as well.

Which permits do rehab providers in Malmö need?

Residential care homes and outpatient services run under Sweden’s Social Services Act in Malmö need a permit from IVO, the Health and Social Care Inspectorate, the national body that supervises health and social care. Health care providers instead notify IVO for its care provider register at least a month before opening.

Registration brings a provider under IVO supervision but is not a quality rating, so it is one question to ask among several before choosing a program.

Rehab costs and payment in Malmö

Most people treated in Malmö pay public fees capped by national rules, since publicly funded treatment is listed at nearly all of the city’s rehabs and public health cover is accepted at nearly all as well. Private residential rehab has an estimated typical range of €8,900 to €23,700 a month.

Self-pay is listed at a few of the rehabs in Malmö. Anyone weighing a private program against the public clinic can compare the monthly ranges below with the national fee ceilings, which keep public costs low for people covered by Swedish health care.

What is the estimated cost of private rehab in Malmö?

Private rehab in Malmö has an estimated typical range for each of four levels of care listed in the city. Medical detox runs from about €5,300 to €16,600 a month, residential rehab from €8,900 to €23,700, and the two outpatient levels lower still, as the table below shows for each level.

These are monthly figures. A provider can set out in writing what the stay or the course covers, which makes two options easier to weigh.

How much does public care cost in Malmö?

Public care in Malmö is covered by Sweden’s high-cost protection: a person pays no more than 1,450 kronor for outpatient visits in any 12-month period and no more than 3,800 kronor for prescription medicines. A day in a public inpatient ward costs at most 130 kronor under the same national rules.

What kinds of treatment are listed in Malmö?

Treatment in Malmö leans toward outpatient care, listed at most of the rehabs, with medical detox, hospital detox and inpatient care each at about half. Residential rehab, intensive outpatient care and short-term stays are listed at only a few of the city’s rehabs.

Evening treatment and aftercare appear at some of the rehabs in Malmö, and weekend programs, walk-in access and discharge planning at a few.

Can rehab in Malmö treat depression or anxiety too?

Yes. Treatment for depression and anxiety is listed at about half of the rehabs in Malmö, and care for a mental health condition alongside addiction at about half as well. Mental health treatment of some kind appears at nearly all of them, and crisis intervention and psychiatric walk-in care at a few.

Programs that treat both conditions together are worth asking about directly, since the order and setting of care can differ between providers.

Arriving in Malmö for treatment

Travelers heading for rehab in Malmö usually fly into Copenhagen Kastrup Airport, which has international flights and sits 13.5 miles from central Malmö. Distances here are straight-line measurements from the city center, so the trip by road or rail is longer than the number given for each place.

Someone bringing prescribed medicine should check the Swedish limits first. Visitors who live in another Schengen country may bring narcotic-classified medicine for up to 30 days of their stay, while those living outside Schengen may bring up to 90 days’ supply of schedule IV and V medicines, with Läkemedelsverket, Sweden’s Medical Products Agency, setting limits for the rest.

Rehab is also listed in Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Austria, Switzerland, Spain, Italy, Ireland and Scotland.

What is the area around Malmö like?

The nearest high ground lies well outside Malmö: the hill Romeleklint is 17.5 miles away and Örnakullen 18.5 miles. The lake Yddingen lies 10.5 miles from the center, and the beach at Gislövs Strandmark 21.2 miles. At least 25 hospitals are within 10 miles.

Eksholmssjön and Fjällfotasjön, two more lakes, are 12.3 and 13.2 miles out. As Sweden is in the Schengen area, visitors from outside the EU can stay up to 90 days in any 180-day period, on a short-stay visa if their nationality needs one; longer stays follow Swedish national procedures. More rehab near major airports is listed on the site.

Where can someone in Malmö call for help?

Someone in Malmö who needs urgent help can call 112, the emergency number. For treatment, the regional psychiatric addiction clinic answers on 040-33 16 00. Alkoholhjälpen, Sweden’s free and anonymous national alcohol helpline, takes calls on 020-84 44 48 from Monday to Thursday, 11:00 to 19:00, and on Fridays until 16:00.

More rehab across the continent is listed on the Europe page.