The matter in summary Nordlandssykehuset is considering cutting the ambulance service in Lofoten and Salten in order to save money. The proposal will save the hospital NOK 12 million annually, but has met with strong opposition from the emergency services and the local population. There are concerns that the cuts will mean that ambulances will not arrive in time, which could lead to loss of life. The Progress Party expresses concern that the cuts in Lofoten could be the start of a national trend. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAI. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. – We are afraid that lives will be lost. That’s what ambulance worker and shop steward Marianne Fredrikke Skjerpen says. Nordlandssykehuset needs to save money, and is therefore looking at a proposal to cut the ambulance service, both in Lofoten and in Salten. The proposals will save the hospital NOK 12 million annually, and are described as “crucial for ensuring the company’s financial sustainability”. Ambulance workers in Lofoten demonstrated this winter to keep emergency preparedness at Lofoten Hospital. In the end, they were allowed to keep the hospital. Now they feel that preparedness is again at risk. Photo: Alexandra Sjøen But if the proposal goes through, Skjerpen and her colleagues are worried that they will not get there in time. The mayors of all Lofoten’s six municipalities are also now asking Nordlandssykehuset to pull the brakes and start the process again. They believe the process has not been characterized by dialogue and real participation. Nordlandssykeuset will consider the proposal at a board meeting on Wednesday, but does not wish to answer questions or comment on the matter until the board has considered it. – Save us if we don’t make it in time Today, five ambulances are in operation in Lofoten. Two 24-hour vehicles in Svolvær Two 24-hour vehicles in Gravdal One 24-hour vehicle in Moskenes The proposal that is now on the table will provide the following structure: Two 24-hour vehicles in Svolvær One 24-hour vehicle and one day vehicle in Gravdal One 24-hour vehicle in Flakstad In other words, Lofoten could end up with one less ambulance than today, after 5 p.m. In addition, it is proposed that the ambulance in Moskenes be moved to Flakstad. Then Moskenes is left without an ambulance. The drive between Moskenes and Flakstad is approximately 40 minutes. – We are afraid of not arriving in time. Both in ambulance, fire and police, we are now in a minimum level of preparedness, says Skjerpen and adds: – The geography of Lofoten is not just a quick trip from one side to the other. There is a lot of bad weather and closed bridges. Often, an ambulance with air transport cannot go out. Marianne Fredrikke Skjerpen fears that there will not be enough emergency personnel if disasters occur. This picture is from a disaster exercise in 2018. Photo: Kristoffer Lorentzen But it is not only the employees of the ambulance who sound the alarm. Several in the voluntary fire brigade in Moskenes say they are considering resigning, according to Lofot-Tidende The police chief in West Lofoten calls the proposal madness in Lofotposten Storting representative Mona Fagerås (SV) demands answers from the Minister of Health Vestre (Ap) about the ambulance service in Lofoten Lars Ottemo Gärtner , fire chief and emergency coordinator in Vågan, rages against the proposal and believes that no account has been taken of the large number of tourists who are in the region throughout the year, which also takes up the ambulance capacity – There is, after all, a 20 percent reduction in the ambulance response in Lofoten in the evening and night. By making these changes, it can have a big impact on the response time, says Lars Ottemo Gärtner, fire chief and emergency coordinator in Vågan. He fears the fire brigade and other emergency services will more often have to respond to emergency calls without the necessary skills and equipment while waiting for an available ambulance. Photo: Trude Furuly Have to drive almost an hour over a weather-exposed mountain pass Nordlandssykehuset also proposes changes in Indre Salten. Here, the number of 24-hour vehicles in Saltdal will be reduced from two to one, and this will be replaced by an ambulance during the day. In addition, the ambulance station in Beiarn will be closed, which currently has one 24-hour ambulance on standby. Instead, the ambulance in Beiarn will have a guard post at Rognan. This means that the ambulance has to drive just over 50 minutes over the very weather-exposed Beiarfjellet for each change of guard. Acting leader of the Salten regional council, Marlen Rendall Berg (Sp), believes that we are about to go back in time. – We know that in future there will be more elderly people and we will have an increase in ambulance and other health services. Here you go back in time when you should actually be going forward. Marlen Rendall Berg (Sp) is mayor of Fauske municipality and acting leader of Salten regional council. Photo: Synnøve Sundby Fallmyr / news – Is there an excess capacity of ambulances in the region? – Not as we see it. We see that it reaches exactly the need that exists today. They are now urging the board of Nordlandssykehuset to postpone the case until more impact investigations are carried out. The Ambulance Association: Nordlandssykehuset should turn around – We believe that Nordlandssykehuset should turn around because we need the preparedness that exists. This is what the leader of the Ambulance Association of the Delta trade union, Ola Yttre, says to news. He says their members in Lofoten are worried that fewer ambulances will lead to increased pressure on employees, who already believe the situation is demanding. Ola Yttre, head of the Ambulance Association in the trade union Delta, tells news that several of their members in Lofoten fear the consequences of cuts in the service. Photo: MARTIN MÜLLER / DELTA – In addition, they are concerned about the population with whom they are in daily contact. He fears the consequences of a possible decision. – The consequence can be that emergency help arrives too late, and then lives can be lost. Frp: – Extremely serious – I react very strongly to the cut proposal. This will affect the safety and preparedness of the inhabitants of Lofoten. This is what health policy spokesperson for the Progress Party, Bård Hoksrud (Frp), told news. The fact that ambulances have been proposed to be converted from 24-hour vehicles that are operational 24 hours a day, to vehicles that are only staffed during the day, reduces preparedness. Bård Hoksrud (Frp) fears the ambulance cuts in Lofoten and Indre Salten are only the beginning of cuts in pre-hospital services across the country. Photo: Nadir Mohammad Alam / news He thinks he can see the contours of cuts in ambulance services happening in several places in the country, and fears Nordlandssykehuset is only the first in the line. – We see in the regional health organizations and in the local hospitals that there are new cut proposals. Then I’m afraid that what you see in Lofoten is the first step towards cuts in the ambulance service in the whole country, he says and adds: – If there are fewer ambulances, the residents’ sense of security will decrease. Published 25/09/2024, at 05.47 Updated 25.09.2024, at 08.21
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Ambulance service in Lofoten threatened by cuts – emergency services concerned – news Nordland
