– Lack of respect, Oslo’s mayor Marianne Borgen (SV) thundered against the government from the city council’s podium. Oslo demoted If the Oslo politicians had been allowed to decide, Ullevål Hospital would never have been closed down. The new, large hospital at Gaustad would never have been built. It will be connected with today’s Rikshospital. And the planned hospital at Aker would look quite different. But it is no longer Oslo that decides. The government chose to force the new hospitals through as a state plan. The municipality has thus been demoted to a hearing body. In its consultation response, the city council rejects the plans. It was adopted by 32 to 27 votes on Wednesday evening. That is, all parties except the Labor Party and the Conservative Party. MARKING: Shareholders who want to preserve Ullevål were in place in the castle yard before today’s city council meeting. Photo: Olav Juven / news This is some of the criticism: 1. Ullevål is closed Oslo city council wants to preserve and expand UIlevål hospital instead of building in Gaustad. It will be much cheaper, they point out. They believe that the need for hospital capacity in the future is underestimated. Without Ullevål, the capacity will be too small even with two new, large hospitals, they fear. 2. Too large and dominant “Too big hospital on too small a site”. It has been said about the new Gaustad for a long time. “Gigantomania” and “galimatias” are words Oslo politicians have used. The same criticism has eventually also been directed at Aker. – Here you try to squeeze a lot of things into very small plots. It comes at the expense of both nature, cultural heritage and the local environment, city development councilor Hanna E. Marcussen told news in August. NYE GAUSTAD: The new, large Rikshospitalet has shrunk somewhat since planning began, but will still be too dominant, the city council believes. Photo: Prosjekteringsgruppen Nye Rikshospitalet 3. Bad for psychiatry All drugs and psychiatry at Oslo University Hospital will be collected at Aker, just north of Sinsenkrysset. – The noise and air conditions and the outdoor areas at Aker make the site ill-suited for psychiatric and substance abuse treatment, according to today’s decision. 4. Weakened maternity care The argument here is that Aker will get one of the country’s largest maternity wards, but without a full-fledged neonatal intensive care unit. It will be located at Rikshospitalet. The majority point to the rush hour traffic on Ring 3. – Oslo municipality is concerned about the negative consequences of vulnerable and very sick newborns being transported in an ambulance between Aker and Gaustad. 5. Professional communities split The majority express concern that professional communities which are currently gathered at Ullevål are split between Aker and Gaustad. – Oslo municipality is particularly concerned about what this will do to preparedness in the event of major emergency situations such as terrorism, extensive accidents or complex injuries, it says. ULLEVÅL: Oslo municipality wants a rematch over the closure of Ullevål hospital. Photo: Espen Willander, David Haugen / news Aerial photo 6. Uncertain for Groruddalen Oslo municipality is in favor of a new hospital at Aker, but demands that there be a local hospital for all four districts in Groruddalen in the first construction phase. According to Helse Sør-Øst, Grorud and Stovner must wait until the second stage, in 2036 at the earliest. The city council fears that it will never come. 7. The hospitals will be too expensive The first construction phase at Aker and Gaustad is estimated to cost NOK 42 billion. The majority indicates that Helse Sør-Öst will postpone a number of its other projects due to increased construction costs. They believe it will affect construction stage two at Aker. 8. Poor traffic solutions Oslo municipality believes that the public transport coverage of new Aker will be far too poor. To avoid traffic chaos, they require trams in Trondheimsveien until new Aker. At Aker, a new metropolitan emergency room will also open next year. 9. Negative for old Gaustad – The proposal weakens the listed Gaustad hospital’s connection with the landscape, according to the city council. The National Archives has also protested against construction in the park facing old Gaustad. In the choice between two “evils”, the Oslo politicians prefer to build in height rather than the hospital “extruding” in width. GAMLE GAUSTAD: Many fear that the new hospital will overshadow the old, protected one. Photo: Olav Juven / news 10. Oslo municipality is overrun That the state wants to force the plans through against Oslo municipality’s will is overrunning local democracy, Oslo City Council believes. Mayor Marianne Borgen (SV) said in the debate that she was upset with the government. OUTRAGED: Oslo’s mayor Marianne Borgen (SV) railed against the government’s overtaking. Here from a previous hospital demonstration. Photo: Stian Lysberg Solum / NTB – They put elected democracy out of action in such an important matter for the city’s population. – The government shows a lack of respect for the residents of this city, for Oslo’s professional institutes, the trade unions at OUS and a number of other organisations. – This is quite startling and quite unacceptable, Borgen raged. Høyre and Ap Høyre support the plans for a long time. The Labor Party is somewhere in between. The party wants to build a new large hospital in Gaustad, but will also have continued operations in Ullevål. Otherwise, the capacity will be too poor, according to the party. – Helse Sør-Est has been responsible for the development of many hospitals in Eastern Norway which have already proven to be too small when they opened, said Jon Reidar Øyan (Ap). Rejects rematch So to the big question. Does the municipality of Oslo have something to say? The Ministry of Health responds as follows: – When all the consultation input has been received, the Ministry of Health and Care, in dialogue with Health South-East, will summarize the consultation opinions and assess how these should be incorporated into the plan. This is what State Secretary Karl Kristian Bekeng (Ap) writes in an e-mail to news. NOTHING CHANGES: The fact that the majority in the city council is different after the municipal election does not change the committee, says Karl Kristian Bekeng in the Ministry of Health. Photo: Esten Borgos / Borgos Foto AS Bekeng makes it clear at the same time that all attempts to rematch the hospital structure are of no use. He reminds that Oslo supported the plans in both 2016 and 2018. – However, the majority in Oslo City Council has changed its opinion after the last municipal election, and is now opposed to the project. – It does not change the outcome, he states. He goes on to say that Oslo University Hospital has the oldest and worst buildings in the country. The plans will provide increased capacity, and that in modern buildings, according to Karl Kristian Bekeng.
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Oslo City Council opposes the hospital plans in consultation statement – news Oslo og Viken – Local news, TV and radio
