The case in summary: – Oslo University Hospital has not saved enough money for the new hospitals.- This could lead to a halt in other projects and cuts in the plans.- Helse Sør-East has been granted a loan of a maximum of 30 billion by the state for the construction, but they must provide the rest of the money themselves.- There is concern that the plans will not be able to be carried out, and that there will have to be cuts in the plans.- If Oslo University Hospital is unable to save enough, it may lead to other building projects being postponed. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAi. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. – It will be challenging to make this work together financially, says Terje Rootwelt. He is the managing director of Health South-East – Norway’s largest health region. Their companies run hospitals for over 3 million people. Over the next ten years, they have construction plans for approx. NOK 85 billion. More than half of the sum goes to new hospitals in Oslo. On Tuesday, Minister of Health Ingvild Kjerkol will give his hospital speech. There, it is expected that she will, among other things, take up financing of new hospitals. Savings and Ullevål sale The official “price tag” on new Oslo hospitals is now approx. NOK 45 billion. But the sum can be higher. Helse Sør-East has been granted a loan of a maximum of 30 billion by the state for the construction. It must cover up to 70 percent of the price. They must provide the rest of the money themselves. Then there are a few things that become decisive: Land sale. It is planned to sell the Ullevål hospital site now for NOK 8.5 billion. In addition, Oslo University Hospital (Ous) will, among other things, sell land on Dikemark in Asker and in Sandvika. In total, they hope to bring in approx. 11 billion in this way. Savings. From the “parent company” Helse Sør-Øst, Ous has received strict requirements for positive results, or profits. In total, they will save almost NOK 7 billion until 2031. This means that Ous will have to go hundreds of millions “in the plus” every year. To achieve that, the number of man-years must decrease. At the same time, the activity at the hospital must increase. So far it has not worked. Last year, the requirement was adjusted down sharply. This year too, the target has been reduced, down to 150 million. In other words: Ous is already almost 400 million “in arrears” with the savings. It must be repeated in the years to come. – We are just pushing this. The hill is only getting steeper and steeper, says Ullevål union representative Erik Høiskar for the Norwegian Medical Association. Fears cuts in hospitals Together with Anne Marit Wang Førland, who represents the employees on the board of Ous, he has several times warned against the plans. The two are absolutely certain that it won’t work. And then the plans have to be cut. Høiskar points to the example of Kalnes Hospital in Østfold. – There, on the farm, a lot of beds and space for employees were simply taken away, he says. In Østfold, they are now planning a new building to get more space. Erik Høiskar and Anne Marit Wang Førland are concerned that the Oslo hospitals will be too small. Photo: Olav Juven / news But whether they will be able to build it is not certain. The board of Helse Sør-Est has already pushed the new Kalnes building and other new construction projects forward. And it can happen again, confirms director Terje Rootwelt. Taking off the joint pot For: it is not relevant to stop the plans in Oslo. So what happens then, if Ous doesn’t get to save as much as planned? In addition to what the hospitals save themselves, Helse Sør-Öst has also saved money. Each year, approx. 900 million for a “buffer” to deal with uncertainty or if projects turn out to be more expensive than expected. – This is money that is retained regionally and distributed to everyone, says director Rootwelt. Director Terje Rootwelt in Health South-East says they will ensure that the hospitals in Oslo are built. Photo: Nadir Mohammad Alam / news By 2031, that buffer will be approx. 8 billion. Helse Sør-Öst decides how it will be used. If more is spent on some projects, there is less left for the others. And then other building projects can be pushed on, confirms Rootwelt. – It is more difficult to stop along the way. So what may be relevant is to postpone later projects that have not yet progressed, but are being planned. Mjøssykehuset in play There are many of them. In several places, the plans are well under way. But now they can be completely put on hold. Maybe they won’t be built at all. – In my opinion, there is not only a risk for that. It is mostly probable, says Christian Grimsgaard. He represents the employees on the board of Helse Sør-Öst. This can be pushed on/postponed: This can be pushed on or put on hold in Health South-East New cancer and somatic building Ahus Part 2 of the development in Oslo – here, for example, is the full relocation of Ullevål and expansion of the new hospitals Completed /expand new Sunnaas hospital Innlandet Hospital – new Mjøs hospital and change of structure New radiation and somatic building at Kalnes hospital in Østfold Somatic building in Skien. There, Health South-East will prioritize radiotherapy, so the bed building has already been postponed. New emergency building at the hospital in Kristiansand New women’s/children’s center at the hospital in Kristiansand Not only can Oslo get most of the “buffer” for Health South-East. They will also extract much of the money from the region’s joint loan scheme. Over the years, parts of the money distributed to the health institutions have been placed in the internal “bank”. When new hospitals are to be built, they can extract money. Some companies have withdrawn more than they have paid in, and owe the “bank” money. Like Ahus and Sykehuset Østfold. Others are gaining. For example, Sykehuset Innlandet has set aside 2.2 billion there. And Southern Norway 1.3 billion. – The risk is that if one hospital spends too much and is unable to pay the bill, it affects the others. It is about to happen here in Helse Sør-Öst, says Grimsgaard. He uses Telemark as an example. When in spring there was a lack of approx. 600 million for the plans for a new cancer center and somatics building in Skien, Helse Sør-East said no to go in and cover the sum. Christian Grimsgaard believes that other hospital projects in Southern and Eastern Norway will not come to fruition. Photo: Nadir Mohammad Alam / Nadir Alam news Although the Telemark Hospital has a billion “to spare” in Health Sør-East’s own bank. Instead, the hospital must be built in stages, and the project postponed. Ous also has money in this bank. About. 5 billion. But Helse Sør-Öst plans to collect approx. 11 billion the year the new hospitals are completed. The same amount as all the health organizations in total have outstanding in the joint bank. They simply empty the piggy bank. – On the way to Helse Nord Grimsgaard fears that the large investments could end in an economic crisis. As Helse Nord is now experiencing. – What is happening in Helse Nord now is a warning of what we can see for ourselves in the coming years, says Grimsgaard. – They have invested a lot of money in new buildings, and then they cannot afford to staff them when they are finished. It is likely that we will also end up in that situation, he believes. To avoid that, the entire model for building hospitals must be changed, he believes. He does not think the politicians are aware of the consequences of large projects. – They think that they are allocating for new buildings, but it is therefore a loan that we take out that must be repaid with interest. That means you have to cut back on operations, he says. This is what Ous says about savings: “Oslo University Hospital HF is in a restructuring process where activity is to increase and costs are to be reduced. The ongoing restructuring process is expected to take up to three years before we are in a development that provides increased profits that will ensure ongoing investment capacity and financing needs for new hospitals. Each clinic is responsible for its budgets. The clinics are working on measures to reduce costs and increase activity. In addition, we have several joint measures to improve operations. Some examples of this are adapting the number of manned beds, increasing operational activity and adopting new solutions in logistics and procurement. The hospital has also carried out, and is planning further, organizational changes, the purpose of which is more effective decision-making lines and increased management power in order to be able to carry out restructuring and streamlining as described above. It is true that the annual results in 2024 should have been greater, but at the same time we are in the middle of a comprehensive restructuring process which should make it possible to achieve a satisfactory development with lasting effects.”
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– What is happening in Helse Nord is a warning – Greater Oslo
