– Vital diagnoses and treatment are in danger, says director of IFE Radiofarmasi, Erik Flatmark. They are responsible for the import and distribution of radiopharmaceuticals to Norwegian hospitals. Radiopharmaceuticals are medicines that contain a radioactive component, which are used in advanced diagnosis and treatment of critically ill patients. – These are vital medicines that have a very short shelf life. We are talking about hours and not days, says Flatmark. Due to the short shelf life, these medicines are usually transported by air within Norway. – We are completely dependent on a stable situation on air transport, says Flatmark. Most critical for patients in northern Health West and Health Central Norway can have some of the medicines transported by car, but in northern Norway the distances are so great that they will not arrive on time. IFE uses the SAS-owned company Trust Forwarding to transport these medicines. They have sent an application to NHO Aviation for a dispensation from the lockout. They have so far not received a response to this application, SAS informs news. On June 29, they are scheduled to send the next delivery to northern Norway. Emergency meeting on emergency preparedness On Sunday morning, an emergency meeting was called on emergency preparedness at Finnmark Hospital. An unclear situation for the ambulance planes and many canceled planes, worries medical officer Harald Sunde. – Monday morning, 86 flights have been booked with Widerøe to a hospital in Finnmark that cannot be completed, he says. – These are patients who, among other things, come to cancer treatment. We will try to transport some of these by car, but it is not safe for everyone. The labor dispute between NFO and NHO aviation continues, and from Sunday onwards, 450 aircraft technicians will not be able to go to work. This has led to Widerøe canceling 67 domestic flights on Sunday. More than eighty patients will travel by plane to the hospitals in Finnmark on Monday. Canceled flights mean that many will not arrive. Photo: Eirik Sørenmo Påsche / news Must postpone operations and treatment Harald Sunde says the hospital is now preparing for the fact that treatments and operations must be postponed because the patients do not arrive on time. With over eighty patients who have booked flights on Monday to come for treatment, it is clear that some of these will not be able to get to the hospitals. Then we have to cancel and postpone the treatments. But it is not just patients who are affected by the short-distance network being shut down. Harald Sunde says the canceled widerøe departures also stop employees, temps and specialists. In addition, various samples are also sent to the University Hospital of Northern Norway (UNN) for examinations. – This will have consequences for seriously ill patients that we examine and have for treatment. Canceled flights affect both patients and employees. Many do not get to work or treatment. Photo: Allan Klo / news Difficult for patients from Finnmark Many patients from Finnmark are flown to UNN in Tromsø for treatment. This is especially true of cancer patients. From medical officer at UNN Håkon Lindekleiv, press officer Solveig Jacobsen receives confirmation that from Monday it will be difficult for patients, especially from Finnmark. When it comes to employees who are going to work at the hospital in Tromsø, there are so far no signals that this will be a big problem. – We can not rule it out, but there is nothing to indicate that it will affect our operations, says Jacobsen. They regularly report on the situation to the State Administrator. Harald Sunde, medical officer at Finnmark Hospital, is closely monitoring how canceled aircraft affect emergency preparedness. Photo: Kristina Kalinina / news – People may have to wait for hours for months State Administrator in Troms and Finnmark Elisabeth Vik Aspaker is now concerned about public preparedness, and has sent a report of concern to the Directorate for Civil Protection and Emergency Planning (DSB). In northern Norway, there are long distances. If the conflict continues, it will have major consequences. – People may have been waiting for hours for months. There are many old people who travel, and if you have to drive 50-60 miles, it is not an option, says Aspaker. The distances in northern Norway are large. This means that State Administrator Elisabeth Aspaker is concerned about public preparedness. Photo: Tonje Hareland
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UNN and Finnmark Hospital are following the situation closely – news Troms and Finnmark
