– I don’t understand that Kjerkol has her ideological blinders pulled down so far that she would rather let the hospital employees wear themselves out than use private, free capacity. I don’t understand how they calculate at the Ministry of Health right now! FRP’s health policy spokesperson Bård Hoksrud reacts strongly to news’s survey of the health institutions’ many and long treatment queues. After the corona pandemic, several Norwegian hospitals have to use evenings and weekends to catch up on the backlog of treatments. Have to wait a year – The waiting time for surgery has increased. Previously, it was between three and six months. Now the waiting period is up to one year. All this is due to the pandemic, said Geir Lende, clinic for orthopedics, surgery and day surgery at Stavanger University Hospital. Geir Lende, head of clinic at Stavanger University Hospital. Photo: Ole Andreas Bø / news news contacted 20 healthcare companies, and well over half of them replied that they are now working to catch up with the large backlog. Backlog and waiting time at the hospitals news has sent questions about the backlog and waiting times to 20 healthcare institutions across the country. This is the overview of the answers we have received. The questions: Are you working extra to get up to date after the pandemic? How long is the wait now? For which treatments/operations is the longest waiting time? The University Hospital of Northern Norway (UNN): There has been a little extra work in the afternoons and Saturdays. In June, the waiting time for somatics was 74 days (the target is 50) and for mental healthcare for adults 85 days (the target is 40). Eye diseases 106 days, ear-nose-throat 96 days, orthopedic surgery 95 days. Health Fonna: There is extra work, including at the evening outpatient clinic in many subjects. But we are not working to catch up again after the pandemic. The pandemic is not over for us. We have had as many corona patients admitted this summer as during the peak in winter. It requires a lot of resources. The total waiting time is 63 days (the requirement from Helse Vest is 50). We have a large backlog, hence many missed deadlines. Orthopedics, gynecology, urology. Within the medical clinic there are digestive diseases, habilitation, neurology and gastrointestinal tract. Health Stavanger: There will probably be an evening outpatient clinic and operations on Saturdays during the autumn. The orthopedic outpatient clinic uses an evening outpatient clinic. The waiting lists are well on their way down now, they were longer before. At the orthopedic outpatient clinic, the waiting time is approx. four months both for newly referred persons and for those who are going to be checked, this because the pandemic. The waiting time for surgery varies from section to section, but is between three and six months as opposed to one year. This is due to the pandemic. Getting a prosthesis inserted. The overall waiting time from referral to an orthopedist to the actual operation is approximately 1.5 years. Sørlandet Hospital: There is extra work on evenings and Saturdays. Further measures are planned beyond the autumn to increase capacity. The backlog is over 10,000 outpatient consultations. The waiting time is ten days longer than at the same time in 2021. An average of 80 days after the end of the holiday, 70 days on average so far this year. Orthopedics and ear-nose-throat, where the waiting time is 120 days for newly referred patients, and the same for operations. Telemark Hospital: Operation in the evening and on Saturdays in certain subjects, i.a. radiology and dialysis. The waiting time in somatics has increased the most and was 61 days on average at the end of July. The waiting time in mental health and substance abuse is less than 35 days. Plastic surgery and fertility. Akershus University Hospital (Ahus): Has carried out operations and outpatient clinics according to strict medical prioritisation. Immediate help and cancer are prioritized, while less serious operations, such as orthopedics and ear-nose-throat surgery, have been postponed. The average waiting time is 82 days in 2022, compared to 66 days in 2019. Benign surgery (benign, not cancer), orthopedics and ear-nose-throat surgery. Sykehuset Innlandet: Various measures have been implemented to catch up with the backlog after the pandemic and reduce waiting times in several places in the health institution. The waiting time for somatics is 62 days on average in July, which is eleven days longer than in July 2021, but five days shorter than in June. Digestive diseases, lung diseases, kidney diseases, mental health care. Nordlandssykehuset: Has been working to catch up with the backlog since June 2020 due to increased activity at the outpatient clinic and surgery. The waiting time has been significantly reduced since 2020. The waiting time until the start of treatment was 66 days in July, while before the pandemic it was 62 days. Jaw surgery, digestion, eye diseases, plastic surgery, habilitation for children and young people. Most waiting patients are in orthopaedics, ear-nose-throat and mental health care. Helgelandssykehuset: There has been extra in several specialist areas to clear the backlog. The waiting time varies. Not only due to the pandemic, but also to a lack of resources. The waiting time for ear-nose-throat patients waiting for an appointment is 61 days, for eye patients 141 days and for orthopedic patients 96 days. The challenge is greatest in orthopaedics, ear-nose-throat and eye diseases. Vestre Viken health enterprise: Uses all available capacity to collect the backlog, both outpatient and during operations. The hospitals set up extra capacity both in the evening and on Saturdays. Overall, the average waiting time is a few days longer than before the pandemic, and varies from subject to subject. Haukeland University Hospital: Working extra to get up to date. This spring, 18 units had an evening outpatient clinic. Ten departments are planning evening outpatient clinics this autumn. In June, the waiting time for skin and venereal diseases was 88 days, for eye diseases 77 days, for thoracic surgery 192 days and habilitation for children and young people 104 days. Østfold Hospital: Extra work is being done at e.g. additional outpatient clinic. Sunnaas hospital: Has taken many measures during the pandemic to avoid a large backlog. The hospital is a rehabilitation hospital, not an emergency hospital, as the others are and has therefore not had to accept acutely ill corona patients nor had to reallocate personnel for that reason. – Bad policy – It is completely unacceptable to have a one-year waiting period when there is a lot of free, private capacity that can go in straight away and ensure that people get well quickly. This is bad policy, says Hoksrud. He goes on to say that the healthcare institutions have every opportunity to enter into agreements with private providers to relieve the burden, without it having to cost the patient anything. – While Aleris sells spare capacity to Sweden, Norwegian hospitals have to use evenings and weekends to catch up with the corona backlog. It’s actually hard to believe, says Hoksrud. Bought private services for 18 billion Health and care minister Ingvild Kjerkol was not available to comment on Hoksrud’s claims. Karl Kristian Bekeng, State Secretary in the Ministry of Health and Care, answers on her behalf. – There is nothing preventing the health regions from purchasing health services from private actors. Last year it amounted to almost NOK 18 billion. But it is clear that they must make sure to ensure the most possible treatment for the money they receive, says Bekeng. Karl Kristian Bekeng, State Secretary in the Ministry of Health and Care. Photo: Esten Borgos Stable funding According to Hoksrud, the private healthcare company Aleris can handle 300,000 treatments a year, which “would cut treatment queues dramatically”. – How are you going to reduce the patient queue? – It is important that we ensure that the hospitals have stable funding, that we give the hospitals room to prioritize so that the seriously ill in particular receive rapid treatment and that the health institutions have an overview of the waiting lists, concludes Karl Kristian Bekeng.
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– I don’t understand how they calculate at the Ministry of Health – news Oslo and Viken – Local news, TV and radio
