An overcrowded Swedish hospital has resorted to giving children pans and spoons to bang in emergency situations, according to a report. Read the full story

The likelihood of significant lay-offs at Iceland’s biggest hospital – Landspitali in Reykjavik – became very real today after a general meeting to discuss next year’s budgetary plans was held by hospital president Bjorn Zoega. Read the full story

The Asbru Innovation Centre – the knowledge and entrepreneurial community being formed at the old NATO airbase next to Iceland’s Keflavik International Airport – will host a new international health services centre. That is the goal of a new Term Sheet jointly signed recently by the Keflavik Airport Development Corporation (Kadeco) and Iceland Health. Read the full story

It has been a long two-and-a-half-year wait, but immigrants who arrive in Sweden are once again able to get a Swedish national identity card. As of 1 June, the Swedish Tax Agency will accept applications from anyone over the age of 13 who is registered as living permanently in Sweden and can prove it with their personal identity number. Read the full story

Iceland is first on the Forbes list of world healthcare providers, according to Visir.is. The American business magazine drew together results from health services in many different countries and the nations’ general health.

Among the areas Iceland excelled in are the high life expectancy of both men and women, the country’s record on TB, with Read the full story