– You almost have to smear how much you struggle to maybe get a place. That’s what the 26-year-old student Anita Sjåvik from Rødøy in Nordland says. She has suffered from mental health problems for a long time, but when Sjåvik’s GP sent in an inquiry to the mental health service in Bodø, she had to wait half a year for a response. And she is not alone: The hospitals in the north have for a long time struggled with a staffing crisis, high levels of sickness absence and many hospitalized patients. This results, among other things, in long queues in adult psychiatry. And it is worst in Northern Norway. In Helse Nord alone, there is a shortage of 170 professionals in psychiatry. This means that patients have to wait an average of 73.4 days before they receive health care. The national average is 55 days. In addition, almost every third treatment is not started within the deadline, according to recent figures from the Norwegian Patient Register. – Was labeled as lazy Sjåvik has ADHD, but nobody knew it when she was little: – I was labeled as a lazy person and experienced a lot of bullying from both fellow students and teachers. In retrospect, she has struggled a lot with episodes from her childhood and needed professional help. But it has not been easy. – Not knowing whether you will be allowed in is a burden in itself. You walk around and are afraid of being rejected, she says to news. In Helse Nord alone, there is a shortage of 170 professionals in psychiatry. Photo: KÅRE RIIBE RAMSKJELL / news Calls for action – This is not a lucky situation for anyone, neither those who will offer treatment nor those who need treatment. That’s what company representative in the psychologists’ association in Nordlandssykehuset, Tirill Sten Ingebrigtsen, says. Tirill Sten Ingebrigtsen is a company trustee in the psychologists’ association in Nordlandssykehuset. Photo: Christian Zimmenmann / Norwegian Psychological Association She believes that Helse Nord is in a worrying situation and is calling for better recruitment measures. – There have been some cost-saving measures due to the financial situation in Helse Nord, with travel stops and course stops. This does not contribute positively to retaining and recruiting employees, believes Sten Ingebrigtsen. Critical shortage of specialists 60 psychiatrists and 110 psychologists or psychological specialists are missing in the health institutions in the north of the country, according to Helse Nord. The mental health and substance abuse clinic at Nordlandssykehuset is showing good results, says clinic manager Hedda Soløy-Nilsen. – It is very demanding to recruit externally as there is a critical national shortage of specialists. – We know we have to educate our own. Hedda Soløy-Nilsen, clinic manager Nordlandssykehuset. Photo: Bente H. Johansen Long queues and increased attendance means that almost every third patient in Northern Norway does not get started on treatment before the deadline expires. – How do you prioritize between everyone who is waiting? – We prioritize based on severity and need for help. – The patient will get his right to treatment in the end, but the time it takes is longer than desired, says Soløy-Nilsen. Expensive if the deadline is missed Geir Tollåli, subject director at Helse Nord, points out that the challenge has been there over time. Especially in adult psychiatry. Despite increased funding for mental health last year, and an escalation plan from the government, they are unable to get out of the queue. Head of department in Helse Nord, Geir Tollåli says the amount of referrals has increased since the summer of 2022. This has created several challenges. Photo: Bente H. Johansen / news – We have done everything possible to recruit. We use substitutes in expensive cases, but still there is a lack of qualified therapists. Economically, it is still not temporary workers who are the worst. When a patient has not received help within the deadline, they are transferred to the Helfo system. – Then we have no control over expenses or the service that is offered. NOK 100 million spent last year Both Helse Nord and Nordlandssykehuset are critical of the scope and quality of the services that patients who miss the deadline in psychiatry receive from private operators. Nordlandssykehuset spent over NOK 100 million last year on private companies that took over patients that the company was unable to provide treatment to within the deadline. Speare Helse A/S is one of Norway’s largest private providers of mental health services. The general manager, Robert Speare, says that they must comply with the same regulations as the public health organisations. He believes they are a necessary supplement to public healthcare. State Secretary in the Ministry of Health and Care, Karl Kristian Bekeng (Ap), also believes that the offer to break the deadline is important to ensure that patients receive the help they are entitled to and entitled to. – But there have been several messages from the hospitals that there is a need to look at how the scheme is set up, he says. Therefore, the Ministry of Health and Care has given the Directorate of Health the task of looking at how the system of breaking the deadline works, so that it does not drain the public health system of large sums.
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Helse Nord and Nordlandssykehuset have long waiting lists in psychiatry – news Nordland
