Both professionals and users are very concerned about the implementation of new cuts and reductions in hospitals in northern Norway. Mostly because the health sector is already very vulnerable.
Mats Gilbert, a veteran doctor who has worked in the emergency medicine clinic at UNN (University Hospital in Northern Norway) for many years, fears what he calls a sharp butcher’s knife in vulnerable hospital services across the country.
– What is happening is terrible, quite simply. Why are we going to tear down a public health service that has been built up for generations when the government is laughing so hard? Gilbert asks.
He has heeded the health minister’s signals Hospitals should be reduced further In 2023.
He fears deeper cuts, with Hellas Nord having to restore a deficit of 850 million from 2022.
– Gilbert tells VG that the government’s marching order for big, general cuts and the elimination of entire services will increase disparities, weaken national health preparedness, weaken counties and drive young people out of health workforce careers.
The doctor also feels that the catechism will open up more privatization in both private hospital services and medical services.
Farewell to visions
Jørhil Andreasen, the longtime head of the board at the University Hospital of Northern Norway (UNN), made no secret of his deep concern over what the signals of further cuts might mean.
– I am afraid that all visions of strengthening the offer in UNN have to be shelved, says Andreasen, who stepped down as chairman of the group in 2018.
Now he is a local politician in Senja Municipality.
Like Gilbert, he’s worried about the effects of new cuts signaling the health sector, not chronic problems with getting the necessary health workers.
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Thorolf Enge, head physician of the hospital in Hammerfest and union representative for doctors in Finnmarksikehuset, believes that one budget line stands out at the time to cut: administration.
– It has been growing like a cancerous tumor for a long time, says Enge.
At the beginning of the year, Finnmark Hospital was in a deficit of NOK 230 million and plans to cut NOK 120.6 million.
– We are in a situation where there is no coverage for all our posts. We have to hide the guards, we have to cheat Breach of time limitBreach of time limitA deadline violation occurs if a patient does not receive health care within the deadline, and no end date has been set for the waiting period. . Employees cannot be flogged for more work, the boss adds:
– Among other things, we will save 10 million per month And carry out over 20,000 patient consultations In 2023. It makes me sick to my stomach.
– Castle in the air
If the hospital can heal, there is little hope that they can:
– For two years we were planning to save, but it will get worse. Unfortunately, this time I think it will become a castle in the air.
Hospitals in the health region have chronic staff shortages in many specialty areas.
Staff shortages, among others, apply to the following industries, VG was told:
Bioengineers, surgeons, geriatricians, physiotherapists, interdisciplinary operations, nurse anesthetists, intensive care nurses, midwives, nurses and various other specialists.
Hells Nord’s acting CEO, Marit Lind, was not available to answer VG’s questions on Friday.
she told VG A few days ago, temporary employment was also one of the reasons for the economic crisis.
– One of the main reasons for the situation is the huge costs of temporary workers. Another big part is increased commodity prices as a result of price increases, Lind said.
He confirmed the challenges of recruitment in many places and in many professional contexts.
– Going forward, access to qualified professionals will become more difficult than it already is. Therefore, changes need to be made in the way health care is run, said Lind.
Hells Nord is in a particularly difficult financial situation. Health Minister Ingwil Kerkol (AP) has traditionally said that getting control of the economy is crucial. elders home Last week.
– I know it will be a daunting task for our people in the North, but there is no way around it, the Health Minister said on Tuesday.
The doctor at Nordlandssykehuset, Morten Svendsen Næss, fears the cuts will have negative effects on basic staffing, working conditions and patient care at hospitals in northern Norway.
– We are concerned that it is easier to approve a tight budget than one where expected sickness and absence are taken into account – even if the latter is more economical in the long run, says Svendsen Næss.
Hells Nord is operating with more money than they have, so the request from the Minister of Health was expected. Now they are making serious efforts to improve the situation.
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– I’m excited about the upcoming changes, but I’m not very confident that patients and staff won’t be affected by the changes. No one believes it can be avoided, says Knut Georg Hartvikson, head of the regional user group at Hells Nord.
Hartwigsen, who attends the health agency’s board meetings, said it is not yet clear which concrete savings measures will be considered.
A special committee has now been set up with representatives from several hospitals in the region to advise the director, Hartviksen explains:
– It will take a lot of hard work to turn the tide.
Lain Fosker, president of Punatskeriljan in Helgeland, fears the consequences of the cuts:
– Many departments in our company have already been cut to the bone and will be cut even more now that Hells Nord is in short supply. Now we’re seeing how bad such gradual cuts can turn out in Kirkenes, where the company is closing intensive care spaces to save money, Fosker says.
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