– I understand well that they were frustrated at having to use unnecessary resources on this, says Henrik Stavland. The 17-year-old is a student at Hafstad secondary school in Førde. He gets support from his friend Emilie Skrede. She thinks the scheme leads to less absenteeism, but that it works poorly as it is today. In the autumn, the absence limit in the secondary school was again introduced after exceptions during the pandemic. This leads to many students making contact to have their sickness absence documented. Absence limit in brief Pupils in upper secondary school must attend and participate actively in the training. If a pupil has more than 10 per cent undocumented absence in a subject, he or she will not, as a general rule, be entitled to receive a half-yearly assessment with a grade or position grade in the subject, and the teacher cannot assign such grades either. The student must submit relevant documentation to have an absence exempted from the absence limit. If the pupil has between 10 and 15 per cent undocumented absence and the reason for the absence makes it clearly unreasonable that the pupil should not be able to get a grade, the headmaster can decide that he or she will still get a grade. The absence limit applies to class absences in individual subjects, not the students’ total absences. The student must receive a notification if he or she is in danger of not receiving a grade due to absence. (Source: Udir.no) – Meaningless Leader Nils Kristian Klev of the General Practitioner’s Association says it is a completely wrong use of medical resources in a pressing GP situation. – We have over 200,000 Norwegians without a GP. We believe that using resources on this which is not about medicine, diagnostics or treatment is completely wrong. He adds: – We will of course provide medical attention to those who need it, but we find that a great many of those who make contact would have done well without a doctor and that this is an administrative procedure for the school to ensure documentation of absences. CRITICAL: Nils Kristian Klev, leader of the General Practitioners’ Association, believes that many of the young people who make contact could do well without a doctor. (Archive photo) Photo: Hans Ludvig Andreassen / news He is supported by acting municipal chief physician Jan Helge Dale in Kinn municipality. – This is one of the most meaningless things we do in the healthcare system. This is one of the schemes that is completely on the nose in relation to the resource challenges we have. Back after the pandemic It was autumn 2016 that an absence limit was introduced in secondary school. The aim was to reduce both absenteeism and dropouts. This means, as a general rule, that students who have attended more than 10 per cent of the teaching in a subject without documentation do not receive a position assessment in the subject. During the pandemic, the government introduced temporary exceptions to the documentation requirement for health-related absences. But after the summer holidays, the government re-introduced the usual absence rules at secondary school and in secondary school. And doctors’ offices notice this. – We have 2-5 students every single day linked to the need for certificates. There are very few of those who would have sought a doctor if the absence limit and the documentation requirement were not in place, says Dale in Florø. Municipal supervisor Jan Helge Dale in Kinn municipality is frustrated with the arrangement as it is today. Photo: Geir Bjarte Hjetland / news Many people make contact – We do not have the capacity to offer doctor’s appointments without a medical reason, says municipal chief physician Jan Ove Tryti in Sogndal. There, the pupils receive a standard certificate that they have made contact and reported illness. Førde Medical Center is also busy during the day. – In the first hour and a half, on some days over 50 per cent of the phones are students who want to have a registered absence, says medical officer Roy Båtevik. Anxious waiting for evaluation In the middle of the peak season for coughs, snot, flu and corona, the Association of General Practitioners hopes that the scheme will be evaluated as soon as possible. – Now we face a time with a lot of illness and this will lead to greater pressure in an already strained health service, says manager Nils Kristian Klev. He says that work is being done both against the political leadership and the ministry to find solutions. – We are promised that there will be a review, and that it will be looked at again. With flu season, the stress on this is here and now, and it doesn’t help that this comes in the spring. We think it will take a long time. We could imagine that the exception had been passed on until a new arrangement is in place. STATE SECRETARY: State Secretary Sindre Lysø in the Ministry of Education says that they are open to other groups being able to document health-related absences, such as psychologists and dentists. Photo: Jens Driveklepp Understands the frustration – We fully understand that there is frustration among doctors these days when the work pressure is great. This is a disturbance we have to take with us, says State Secretary Sindre Lysø (Ap) in the Ministry of Education. – What we have done in the past is that this year we have opened the door for other groups to document health-related absences from school, such as psychologists, physiotherapists, dentists and public health nurses. A report from Fafo in 2020 looked at how the first three years of the scheme had been. The findings were, among other things, that absenteeism was significantly reduced, but also frustration among doctors and students. Lysø says they want an absence arrangement that is more flexible and less bureaucratic than the current model. – Exactly how it will look in the future, we will have to come back. It is the Norwegian Directorate of Education that has been tasked with coming up with proposals for possible changes to the regulations. A solution is expected during the next year.
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Doctors despair about the use of time – news Vestland
