The board of Helse Møre og Romsdal unanimously decided last week to postpone the introduction of the health platform. The reason is that they fear all errors and shortcomings in the record system will affect patient safety and lead to a heavy workload for the employees. Chairman Ingve Theodorsen (left) and managing director Olav Lødemel at Thursday’s board meeting in Helse Møre og Romsdal. Photo: Hans-Olav Landsverk / news The Board of Health in Central Norway will consider the matter on Wednesday, and late on Monday evening the message came that the administration insists that they should not follow the decision from Helse Møre and Romsdal, but introduce the Health Platform from April as planned. – Frp leader Sylvi Listhaug should intervene, representing Møre and Romsdal in the Storting. She says it is surprising that the administration in Helse Midt-Norway goes against the board decision in Helse Møre and Romsdal. – I am very surprised that Stig Slørdahl, managing director of Helse Midt, proposes to run over the board of Helse Møre and Romsdal in this way, she says. She believes the Minister of Health must intervene if the board of Helse Midt decides tomorrow that the introduction of the Health Platform will proceed as planned at the hospitals in Møre and Romsdal. – I do not understand that the Minister of Health accepts that Helse Midt is allowed to run a race that puts patients in danger. I would encourage her to take action and ensure that the board decision in Helse Møre og Romsdal is followed up. Kristiansund Hospital is one of four hospitals in Møre and Romsdal. Volda, Molde and Ålesund are the other hospitals that are scheduled to introduce the Helseplattforma record system in April 2024. Photo: Marius André Jenssen Stenberg / news Health Minister Ingvild Kjerkol is clear on who is responsible. – It is now up to the board of Helse Midt-Noreg to assess the matter. I expect that patient safety will be taken care of. Minister of Health Ingvild Kjerkol says the health authority is responsible for patient safety. Photo: Per Sveinung Larsen / news Listhaug also believes that it is time to assess whether Stig Slørdahl is the right man to lease Helse Midt further. – He has a great deal of responsibility for the selection of the Health platform despite strong warnings. It seems that there has been a lot of prestige in the case for him. The Minister of Health must intervene, says Listhaug. Stig Slørdal will not comment on the matter until after the board meeting of Helse Midt-Noreg on Wednesday. The health platform The health platform is a record system that is planned to be used by the entire public healthcare system in central Norway. The computer system also facilitates interaction between municipalities and hospitals. Eventually, the intention is also to connect the GPs in Central Norway. The project is based on technology from the American company Epic Systems. But extensive work has been carried out to prepare the system for the Norwegian healthcare system. The company Helseplattforma AS was established on 1 March 2019 and is owned by Helse Midt-Noreg and several municipalities. A number of experts, both within information technology, health and public administration, have been critical of the choice of technical solution for the Health Platform throughout large parts of the process. The health platform was introduced in Trondheim municipality in April 2022. As of autumn 2023, the vast majority of residents in the region live in a municipality that has either introduced the health platform or decided that they will introduce the solution. In November 2022, the health platform was introduced at St. Olav’s hospital. The plan was for Helse Møre and Romsdal to follow in April 2024 and Helse Nord-Trøndelag in November 2024. Having support from SV Marian Hussain deputy leader and spokesperson for health policy in SV, Listhaug supports that the Minister of Health must intervene. – This is an overriding of Helse Møre og Romsdal and their professional assessments. It makes me seriously worried about patient safety and the burden on the staff. The experiences so far from Trondheim are alarming. If the board does not reject this recommendation, the Minister of Health should intervene, she says. Marian Hussein from SV. Photo: n650143 / n650143 The trustees in Helse Møre and Romsdal are also very worried about the development in the case. Igor Jokic, company trustee and chief physician in Helse Møre og Romsdal, believes that the administration in Helse Midt Noreg is not taking patient safety seriously with this. – The board’s discussion that was presented late last night arouses great concern and mistrust among doctors in Helse Møre and Romsdal. It is obvious that the thorough and fact-based process carried out in Helse Møre and Romsdal is not taken seriously by the administration in Helse Midt-Norge, he writes in a press release, where he also compares the situation to a shipwreck: “Helse Midt-Norge- The schooner has hit the iceberg, and even though the ship is taking in water, people still play the violins and enjoy dinner on the top deck, not unlike a historic shipwreck.” Trustee Igor Jokic is troubled and surprised by the development in the case. Photo: Malin Kjellstadli Korsnes / news I think the introduction must go as planned But there is not only opposition to introducing the Health Platform in April in Møre and Romsdal. Many municipalities in the county have all adopted the journal system, and have positive experiences. They strongly guard against Helse Møre og Romsdal postponing the introduction. The mayor of Ålesund, Eva Vinje Aurdal (Ap), together with the mayor of Kristiansund, Kjell Neergaard (Ap) and the mayor of Molde, Trygve Grydeland (H), have on Wednesday sent out a joint press release stating that they want to have the health platform in place at the hospital in Møre and Romsdal from April. Photo: Remi Sagen / news The mayors of the three largest cities, Kristiansund, Molde and Ålesund, sent out a joint press release on Tuesday in which they point out that it is important for the municipalities that the hospitals follow suit. Both to get better cooperation, and because it will be expensive to delay the introduction of the Health Platform. – We are concerned about the consequences this will have for the health services offered to residents in our region, and also that more tasks may then be transferred to the municipal health services.
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Ask the Minister of Health to intervene: – I am very surprised
