Do you have a dream to see a polar bear before you die? Then maybe Svalbard is the best destination. But if you are already about to die, it can become problematic – because it is not really allowed to die on Svalbard. – We find that there are many old people with failing health who travel to Svalbard, says head of department Kristin Furu Grøtting at Longyearbyen Hospital. At the hospital, which is 100 miles from the mainland, they also have limited capacity to help you if you end up in an emergency health situation. – We have to requisition air ambulances when there are conditions we cannot treat and it is so serious that lives are at stake, says Grøtting. According to Grøtting, every day they have tourists in need of health care. Not everyone is as serious, but since May they have requisitioned 14 ambulance planes. In one week they had five cases. – And then we are at the mercy of the fact that there are planes available, that UNN can receive and that the planes can land here, says the head of department. Grøtting believes it is important that people are aware of where in the world they have traveled and that they have traveled to a place with limited health care. Photo: Private. It was Svalbardposten that first mentioned the case. Wanting a health certificate for cruise passengers For reasons of privacy, the hospital cannot say whether all these cases are tourists. But they confirm that they get many older tourists in their years. Several of these have underlying diseases or other ailments that make it more difficult to treat what is acute. Every day, tourists come to Longyearbyen Hospital to receive health care of varying degrees. Photo: Linda Bjørgan / news The hospital management now wants the cruise industry to require a health certificate for tourists traveling to Svalbard. Because even if the hospital manages to provide the necessary health care to the tourists, it comes at the expense of the local population. – It goes beyond people who have other ailments that are not classed as immediate help, because the health care system is required to stand up when there is immediate help, says Grøtting. – Many people are told that their class has to be moved or cancelled. More passengers than residents Tourism in Svalbard has increased steadily over many years. An example of this is the increase in registered disembarkations from cruise ships. In 1996, 29,600 disembarkations were recorded on Svalbard. In 2019, the number had increased to 108,000. 2022 was a record season for the number of passengers on overseas cruises. The trend looks set to be the same this year. In July and August, 19 cruise ships are expected to call. Ten of these have over 1,000 passengers on board. The largest ship that comes to Svalbard is the MS Preziosa. With room for over 4,300 passengers and 1,300 employees, it accommodates twice as many people as there are residents of Longyearbyen. MS Preziosa is the largest ship to sail to Svalbard this year. Photo: Afp The Governor of Svalbard is pleased that there have been no major unwanted incidents so far this year. – First of all, I just want to knock on the table and hope that nothing happens. We have two large helicopters and service vessels with capacity, but they too have their limitations, says head of state Lars Fause. – My big concern is that there will be major incidents that challenge our rescue capacity. If the worst should happen to one of the large boats, we do not have enough capacity to handle it. Governor of Svalbard, Lars Fause, says they have good preparedness. But am worried if major events should occur. Photo: Rune Nordgård Andreassen / news Large areas and challenging waters The governor also makes a point that they cover a large area, and that smaller incidents have shown that it is often difficult to navigate the waters around Svalbard. – It makes it more difficult to evacuate sick and injured patients to the mainland. Everyone who operates here must consider that it is a special area to operate with tourist vessels, says Fause. He thinks this year’s season will be busy. – We do the best we can with the resources we have, and we are well equipped to handle minor incidents. But it requires a lot of resources from us, and costs the state a lot of money, says Fause. Many tourists hope to see polar bears while on Svalbard. Photo: Arne Nævra The governor also focuses on prevention in the form of frequent control activities and close cooperation with the Norwegian Maritime Directorate, to make sure that all actors have the necessary knowledge and paperwork in order. In a hearing from the government’s cruise committee, it is proposed to introduce a limit of 500-750 people on board cruise ships in the waters off Svalbard. The reason is that there are large distances and very limited rescue and health resources in an environment where weather and ice conditions can change quickly. The consultation is under consideration, and the committee’s members believe that Norway should take the initiative for an international regulation of cruise traffic in the Arctic. Tourism on Svalbard has increased steadily for many years. Here from Longyearbyen. Photo: Petter Strøm / news Fewer inquiries from expedition cruises The Association of Arctic Expedition Cruise Operators (AECO) represents expedition cruise operators in the Arctic. These are operators with vessels with an average of 200 passengers. Communications manager Anne Øien tells news that together with Visit Svalbard and Svalbard Cruise Forum earlier this year they took the initiative for a meeting on the topic. This is after a suggestion from the hospital. Hurtigruten’s expedition cruise ship MS Fram at Spitsbergen a few years ago. Photo: Gregory Gerault / Hemis This led to the hospital, in collaboration with business, creating a clear information document that AECO and Svalbard Cruise Forum gave to shipping companies and operators. In addition, they have ongoing dialogue and collaboration with the hospital. – We have recently received information that the number of inquiries to the hospital in Longyearbyen has decreased from our operators. We therefore see that ongoing dialogue works well for the expedition cruise segment, says Øien.
ttn-69
Will require a health certificate in Svalbard – news Troms and Finnmark
