– I was thinking here one evening: where should we move? Katrine Skjerpan moved back home to Gravdal in Lofoten three years ago. The man and the two children came along. A third was born after they moved home. – We would not have moved home if we had not known that there was a birthing room here. That’s for sure. Now she may lose her nearest hospital. It applies to several people, something that creates unrest in large parts of Northern Norway. May lose the only hospital The crux of the matter is that Helse Nord has been commissioned by the Minister of Health to look at how tasks can be reorganized between hospitals in the north. Skjerpan is one of several residents in Lofoten who do not feel safe after it became known that Northern Norway may lose several emergency hospitals, including in Lofoten. This was revealed in an internal working document that news has seen. Two of the alternatives that are being discussed for the hospital are: Becoming a district medical center Losing emergency surgical preparedness Both people and professionals have reacted strongly to alternatives to the current solution. news has previously written about several senior doctors at the hospital at Gravdal in Lofoten being critical of the work that goes on in Helse Nord. One who has also taken up the fire torches is Hilde Hovde. – The Hurdal platform states that the government will ensure proximity and equal treatment for patients throughout the country. Isn’t Lofoten part of the country? Hovde asked the Minister of Health. Photo: Vilde Bratland Erikstad / news Confronted the health minister: – Are we bleeding more slowly? Hovde created a petition called “No to the closure of Nordlandssykehuset Lofoten”. In eleven days, over 10,000 people have signed the petition. Today she met Minister of Health Ingvild Kjerkol (Labor Party) for a debate in Helgemorgen where the topic was the fight for the health service in Helse Nord. Hovde asks: – Do we bleed more slowly or do we give birth differently compared to other places? We need the emergency response and we need the maternity ward. According to her, there are many people who are anxious doctors in Lofoten at the moment. – We fear that Lofoten will become less attractive as a region and we actually fear for life and health. Helse Nord’s restructuring plans create fear and unrest in northern Norway. It was the topic of today’s Weekend Morning. Kjerkol: – No one has lost anything The Minister of Health replies that emergency preparedness must be taken care of regardless of what changes are being looked at. – Those who live in the north are just like us who live in Trøndelag and the rest of the country. That is why we are making these changes. She explains that the government has prioritized increasing the study capacity for medicine in Northern Norway. This means that more doctors will be trained in Northern Norway. Health Minister Ingvild Kjerkol in the Labor Party agrees that one must also ensure that more generalists are trained in the health care system. Photo: Per Sveinung Larsen / news This is why it is important to have good specialist training in Helse Nord. – Then we have to see if the way we have organized the tasks today is good enough for that. There are many indications that it is not, says Kjerkol and adds: – That is the reason why I have given this assignment. She underlines: – No one has lost anything so far. It is in April that the board of Helse Nord will finally deal with the case. Hilde Hovde is not reassured by the words of the Minister of Health. – No, not above the head. We don’t want people left in Lofoten because staffing will be reduced and there is talk of cutting a maternity ward with emergency preparedness, which is important to us. And it is not just in this part of Northern Norway that people are afraid of losing emergency preparedness. Professional staff: – Starting at the wrong end The so-called staffing crisis has been put forward as the main reason why Helse Nord is making this change. In Northern Norway, over 1,000 positions are vacant, which leads to large expenses for temporary workers. Two people who believe that Helse Nord is starting at the wrong end are Olav Gunnar Ballo and Jan Håkon Juul. Ballo, who is a board member of the Finnmark Medical Association, believes for his part that the Storting should put the process to rest. Olav Gunnar Ballo thinks it is completely out of the question to cut emergency preparedness. Photo: André Bendixen / news – Helse Nord has brought itself into a situation where the economy is critical. It will not affect the hospitals in Hammerfest, Kirkenes or the specialist service in Alta. It is over 800 kilometers from Kirkenes hospital to the university hospital in Tromsø. – It is quite obvious that one must say that the emergency services in both Hammerfest and Kirkenes must remain. Jan Håkon Juul believes that it is not a lack of professionals that is the problem. He is the municipal chief physician in Lofoten and sits in one of the working groups working with the restructuring of Helse Nord regarding psychiatry. – Overall, in Norway we have the highest figure per head in the Nordic countries in the world. He says that Helse Nord has not spent energy on studying how to get professionals from private hospitals and services back into the public sector. Jan Håkon Juul believes that more generalists should be trained to solve the challenges in Northern Health. Photo: Malin Nygård Solberg / news – So it is important to point out that the problem lies in Bodø and Tromsø. Not in Hammerfest, Kirkenes or Vesterålen. They have good recruitment and they have the doctors in place. He believes that the solution to the problem is to train more generalists. The person who has been given responsibility for the restructuring, Marit Lind, says one can get the impression that people sit quietly in the boat and do nothing. – Not spent a short time. She understands that alternatives to change engage people. – Both professionals and the public are concerned about the health services in the north and believe that this process is moving too quickly. Is it not possible to take it a little slower so that it is properly professionally grounded? – We received the assignment a year ago. We have done a lot to delve into numbers and reports. We will not land this until the spring. I would not say that we have used a short time. Marit Lind, CEO of Helse Nord. Photo: Helse Nord – Then the board will finally deal with the matter on 25 April. Our recommendation is then sent to our owner. After this, it is asked what they think of the recommendation. – Have to make a new choice Katrine Skjerpan in Lofoten thinks the process is going too fast. For her, one thing is certain: If they remove the emergency room, the family of five will have to think again. – Then we have to make another choice. We think it is disgusting not to have the emergency function here. – How is Lofoten different from other places where it is far from the hospital? – It is a collection of islands. When the weather is bad, and we have continuous storms, and if there is a storm and the airspace is closed and the boats do not go, then we are left to ourselves. – If you are heavily pregnant or have a heart attack, what happens then? concludes Skjerpan.
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– Where should I move? – news Nordland
