The case in summary: The National Commission of Inquiry for the Health and Care Service has published the report Abuse disguised as treatment. It deals, among other things, with how reports of sexual transgressions against patients have been handled, and how those who report have been taken care of. The commission believes that not enough work has been done to take care of these vulnerable patients. The commission recommends several measures, including strengthening patient safety during gynecological and other intimate examinations by having two health personnel present. Ukom also recommends that the supervisory authority develops a system for a national overview of alerts on cross-border sexual behavior by healthcare personnel. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAI. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. This is what director Pål Iden says to news. He heads the National Commission of Inquiry for the Health and Care Service (Ukom). They have now published the report Abuse disguised as treatment. There, incidents where healthcare personnel in Norway have exposed patients and users to cross-border sexualized acts have been investigated. The report is about how notifications about healthcare personnel have been followed up. But also about how whistleblowers have been taken care of and how the authorities handle the cases. The head of the commission believes that the work has not been done well enough. – What hurts the most is seeing how little these patients have been cared for. Both in the health and care service and by the supervisory authorities. It is also surprising that the treatment of these cases is so variable. We can almost use the word randomly, says Iden. Director Pål Iden in the National Commission of Inquiry for the Health and Care Service. Photo: Alexander Nordby / news Gynecological examinations The Frosta case is one of the reasons why the commission has drawn up the report, but they have also reviewed other cases. The head of the commission says this about the experiences after Frosta: – The lesson is that we have been too bad at prevention. We are too late to detect and we are too unsystematic in dealing with this type of case in the health and care services in Norway. Here there must be improvements in all areas. The commission makes several specific recommendations. Among other things, they will strengthen patient safety during gynecological and other intimate examinations. They therefore suggest that two health personnel should be present during all such examinations. This is practiced in many places today, but not in the entire healthcare system. – It should be normal for patients to be offered a support healthcare professional during intimate examinations. This is a person who can provide practical assistance and support, and in fact also be a source of security for the doctor or the health personnel who carry out the examination, says Iden. Patient safety during gynecological and other intimate examinations should be strengthened, Ukom believes. (Illustration photo) Photo: Alexander Nordby / news National overview Ukom recommends that the supervisory authority develop a system for a national overview of the number of notifications about cross-border sexual behavior by healthcare personnel. The commission is also concerned about dark figures. – Especially in cases with such a large scale as the one we are seeing in Trøndelag now, new cases come up. And there are people and patients appearing who can have stories to tell, who have not reached the surface before, says Iden. news has surveyed cases over the past 20 years where doctors have been accused of violations. It shows that there are many patients who struggle with the after-effects of what they believe they are exposed to. You can read more about that here: Pål Iden believes that news’s mapping is important. – It is very important work. If we are to prevent something, then we have to get it on the table, he says. The Ukom director believes that we must look at cross-border sexual offenses by healthcare personnel as a structural challenge and not as rare individual incidents. The commission recommends that the police and the supervisory authority get routines that enable them to quickly inform each other about healthcare personnel who are under investigation or involved in supervisory matters. Employers of such healthcare personnel must also receive the necessary information to be able to quickly initiate risk-reducing measures. Director Pål Iden in the National Commission of Inquiry for the Health and Care Service. Photo: Alexander Nordby / news Meetings with the patients It is the Norwegian Health Authority and the State Administrator who currently handle most complaints against healthcare personnel. Ukom believes that there should be a quality improvement at the supervisory authorities and that the employees who work with these matters should be specialized to a greater extent. – The case management must move from being written to being a meeting with the patient, where you can see the patient’s needs and where you can take the patient’s information more directly into the treatment, says Iden. The commission writes that whistleblowers must receive good information during the supervision case and that they must also receive guidance on where they can seek health care. – They have not received good enough help in our systems until now, says Iden. The Norwegian Health Authority has already tightened its routines and case management. Director Sjur Lehmann has previously told news: Education of health personnel Ukom recommends that health and care education should teach students about the problems surrounding role confusion and cross-border behaviour. – It must be included at all levels of education and be a topic in workplaces and also when appointing health personnel, says Pål Iden. The commission recommends that the Ministry of Health ensures that a professional support tool is created for the health and care service. This should be of help in the work of preventing and averting. The Ministry of Health and Welfare receives the Ukom report. State Secretary Ellen Moen Rønning-Arnesen (Ap) says that they will now read the report and the recommendations. – Then we will see what we can follow up both in the short and longer term. – But it must be safe to notify. You must be confident that you will receive your follow-up. And our systems at the back must be good enough to catch up, she says. State Secretary Ellen Moen Rønning-Arnesen (Ap) in the Ministry of Health and Care. Photo: Håvard Greger Hagen / news Published 27.11.2024, at 06.18
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Commission of inquiry recommends several measures to prevent healthcare personnel from committing abuse – news Innlandet – Local news, TV and radio
