This is revealed in a report from the National Audit Office. The National Audit Office has today presented two new reports on the health service: “Utilization of IT systems in hospitals” and “Staffing challenges in health facilities – a follow-up survey”. Both reports reveal significant challenges. The health platform works clearly the worst The health platform is one of the IT systems they have looked at. The examinations were carried out four months after the record system was put into use at St. Olav’s hospital. The audit writes that Helse Midt-Norge has tried to introduce what was supposed to be an effective solution – a new joint system for patient records and interaction. But the survey shows that doctors and nurses struggle with errors, poor information flow and a complex and unclear system. – None of the health regions have succeeded well enough in digitizing their curve systems, but the Health Platform clearly performs the worst. It can have consequences for patient safety and is burdensome for the employees. This is worthy of criticism, says Auditor General Karl Eirik Schjøtt-Pedersen. Auditor General Karl Eirik Schjøtt-Pedersen. Photo: Ksenia Novikova / news The report on the utilization of IT systems in hospitals has been sent to the Minister of Health and Care, Ingvild Kjerkol. The Minister points out that in her management of the regional health undertakings, she will ask them to go through the report and assess improvement work in light of it. She writes to news that the challenges with the Health Platform are well known, and that the findings of the National Audit Office are in line with these. – This is also the reason why we have asked Helse Midt-Norge to use the combined resources more effectively to improve the introduction of the Health Platform. Scrapping the Health Platform will cost several billions and increase the risk that we do not have good enough solutions for patients. I don’t have money or time, writes Kjerkol. – We are not on target In a comment to the report, managing director Stig A. Slørdahl of Helse Midt-Norge RHF writes that it confirms what has been their assessment after the Health Platform was put into use at St. Olav’s hospital for one year since. – Several internal audits and inspections have been carried out. Based on these, work is being done to correct errors that could threaten patient safety, and we will in the future place emphasis on improving user-friendliness for healthcare personnel. We are not on target, but we are making progress and a separate package of measures has been allocated for further work, he writes. – The report is also confirmation that adopting new IT systems in complex structures such as hospitals is a challenge and will be experienced as demanding for employees. Our focus now is to succeed in optimizing and improving the solution that hospitals and municipalities in central Norway have adopted and will adopt in the future. Stig Slørdahl is managing director of Helse Midt-Norge. Photo: Jøte Toftaker / news – Must be scrapped The Progress Party is very critical of what is emerging. – I expect that Minister of Health Ingvild Kjerkol will finally intervene and stop pushing the health company ahead of him. The whole system must be scrapped, so that we do not waste even more valuable resources in the healthcare system and stop putting patients’ lives and health at risk, writes Bård Hoksrud to news. Seher Aydar in Rødt is also very critical. – We can no longer see that a computer system that does not work wears out employees, weakens patient safety and drains the hospital of money. No more hospitals must be forced to use this before the problems are solved. Seher Aydar in Rødt Photo: Mathias Moene Rød / news Poor staffing in hospitals The National Audit Office also believes that the staffing situation in Norwegian hospitals has not improved since they sounded the alarm in 2019. The National Audit Office has followed up its report from 2019 in which they stated that the situation was serious. – After four years – of course with a demanding pandemic along the way – the staffing situation in hospitals has not improved. It can still have serious consequences for patients. Many still work part-time, sickness absence has increased, and turnover is at the same level, writes the National Audit Office. At the same time, it is pointed out that many measures have been initiated, and that several of the measures are still ongoing. – However, the staffing challenges are persistent, concludes the National Audit Office and believes that it will take time to see the effects of the ongoing work. The National Audit Office will follow the case further.
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