Flight delay vs medical delay

EU regulation EC 261, which was introduced in 2004, gives air passengers the right to receive compensation in the event of flight delays or canceled flights. The consequence of a flight being delayed or canceled is that you arrive at your final destination later than planned and thus miss a meeting, a holiday or a working day.

In 2005, a national care guarantee was introduced in Sweden, which in July 2010 became a part of the Health Care Act. The care guarantee is a statutory right which means that a region must offer care to those who are registered in the region within a certain time frame, however, you are not entitled to compensation if the care guarantee is not fulfilled. The time frame within which a patient is entitled to care is often exceeded, which many times resulted in patients dying while waiting for medical care.

That a delayed or canceled flight is penalized but that delayed medical care is not is absurd. You don't die from arriving later than planned at your final destination, which you unfortunately can do if you don't receive adequate medical care in time.