– The situation is becoming increasingly critical considering that there is a shortage of health personnel and there is increasing wear and tear among those who are employed, says acting state administrator in Troms and Finnmark, Stian Lindgård. Earlier today, Monday, the acting state administrator received a report from all the hospitals in northern Norway on how the pilot strike in SAS affects the health care system. The county still has challenges in getting strike-proof health workers back to work. They are now taking all measures to get health professionals to work. This means that some have to work double shifts or can have their holiday withdrawn. – It will be possible to exit patient treatment in the long term. We think that the situation is increasingly critical in the municipalities and hospitals. Before the weekend, state administrator Elisabeth Vik Aspaker stated that she was considering applying for a dispensation from the SAS strike to get health personnel north. 180 km by car – There were not many hours of sleep on her before the guard waited, says Synnøve Hølvold Johansen. She and her friend Silje Henninen Malterud and Helene Jakola from Kirkenes went on strike in Crete for several days. They first told about the situation in VG. Silje Henninen Malterud, Synnøve Hølvold Johansen and Helene Jakola work in the health service in Finnmark, they have worked a lot since they came home from Crete. Photo: Private My friend had to drive 180 km from Oslo to Kirkenes to get home and to her jobs in the health service. Only on Saturday at 03:00 did they come home. She herself went on double shifts at Finnmark Hospital all weekend. – There was a shortage and then you have to believe in, you know what it is like to be at work when it is understaffed, she says. The Norwegian Board of Health Supervision states that they are assessing today, Monday, that there is no immediate danger to life and health as a result of the strike. One of two workers One of those who does not get home and back to work is Ann Monica Fredheim. She works in Vadsø municipality and in the health unit in Vadsø prison. She is now on strike in Spain, something she has soon been for one week. After a long wait, she has received new airline tickets from SAS. Then it is expected that she will be back no earlier than Wednesday morning. – But if the planes are up and running, it is asked, she says. Fredheim has been on strike in Spain for a week. It goes beyond her colleague. Photo: Private In prison, only she and one other work as nurses. – My colleague has to postpone his holiday since I can not get home. Fredheim says that it is bitter for all parties. – I’m not guilty of it, but you feel guilty. It is not pleasant to be such a colleague. – Overtime and great wear and tear Acting director of health and care in Tromsø municipality, Edel Pedersen, says that the strike causes problems for more people in the health service. She says that there are many, both permanent employees and substitutes, who are on strike. – We had a survey in the middle of last week, when there were around 15 to 20 people who did not return or came too late to work. It has probably increased, but we do not have an exact number today, she says. The strike is shown in several of the departments. – There is quite a lot of overtime and a lot of wear and tear on the permanent employees and temporary staff we have, it is demanding to cover the staff, Pedersen says. Pedersen says the health services can still provide professionally sound services, but that the longer the strike lasts, the more difficult the situation becomes.
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– The situation is becoming increasingly critical – news Troms and Finnmark
