– When Kjerkol asks the hospitals to look at what they can do less of, it is a slap in the face to all of the almost 250,000 Norwegians in the health queue. That’s what FRP health policy spokesperson Bård Hoksrud says in a comment to news. Today, the Minister of Health and Care Ingvild Kjerkol gave her hospital speech, in which she asked the hospitals to cut back on temporary staff. – Yesterday the state was able to present figures that showed a profit of NOK 1,547 billion from the oil and gas industry last year. At the same time, the hospitals are to be underfunded and Kjerkol allows for cuts in treatments, despite ever-growing healthcare queues. It is both beyond and incomprehensible. Kjerkol put forward several demands for the hospitals for the year: Hospitals must have a critical review of their own use of temporary staff Health organizations must prepare a joint report on staffing Professionals must spend more time with the patients Vulnerable children and young people must be followed up – The Government has taken advice on many large projects and clearly shows what they deprioritise. It is therefore worrying if the Minister of Health, who is responsible for something so important to each and every one of us, becomes a budget monkey. That’s what party leader in the Christian People’s Party, Olaug Bollestad, says. – A tighter economy has been the tone of the review from the government, but I am very worried about the consequences it will have for the citizens of Norway. I expect the Minister of Health to have patients’ safety and patient safety as the main focus. Olaug Bollestad is worried after hearing Ingvild Kjerkol’s speech. Photo: Stian Lysberg Solum / NTB Concerned for the patients – There is no doubt that hospital finances are weak, and I am surprised that the Minister of Health says it is due to unexpected price increases. The Conservative Party is concerned about how it will affect healthcare personnel’s everyday work and patients’ waiting time, says Tone Wilhelmsen Trøen. Red is worried about the employees in the health sector. – The red lights are flashing for the employees now. It is of little help to tell exhausted health workers who have been in a state of emergency for three years that there will be more investigation. Now must do something tangible to keep our people; we must cut down on unnecessary reporting and strengthen basic staffing. The burden must be reduced, says Seher Aydar. – We cannot have the world’s best healthcare if it is impossible to work there. I believe that the Minister of Health will strengthen staffing in Norwegian health institutions. But it is crazy for Kjerkol to have such great faith in the health care providers when the National Audit Office already determined in 2019 that “The health care providers are not making good enough arrangements to create a full-time culture and retain health care personnel,” says Marian Hussein (SV). Tone Trøen (H). Photo: Stian Lysberg Solum / NTB Wants to protect mental health Even if budgets have to be cut, Kjerkol wants hospitals to prioritize mental health and protect mental health services. – There is a need for a special effort to strengthen the provision for people with serious mental disorders, who also have substance abuse disorders, says Kjerkol. The government is therefore strengthening 24-hour treatment within mental healthcare with NOK 150 million. It is particularly vulnerable children and young people who must be prioritized in the healthcare system, says Kjerkol. A low-threshold provision for substance abuse and mental health care in the municipalities will also be increased by NOK 150 million. Health Minister Kjerkol also wants professionals in the hospitals to spend more of their time on patients, and less time on reporting. Among other things, the healthcare organizations must go through the reporting requirements in mental health care and in interdisciplinary drug treatment. – The intention is that the reporting will be more efficient and useful and that we will stop with unnecessary reporting, says Kjerkol. Notice of cut On the same day that Kjerkol asked the hospitals to cut hiring and temporary employment, Oslo University Hospital notified internally of cuts in over 440 full-time equivalents. For example, the clinic for mental health and addiction will cut 80 man-years. And the women’s clinic down 30. For several departments, these come on top of other cuts. In the emergency department, they must reach 40 man-years – on top of the 40 that were all planned to be cut. Trade union representatives news talks to say the cuts in their departments will be made by cuts in the use of substitutes and overtime, and by people having to reduce positions or working hours. – In practice, there will be fewer doctors at work, says clinic trustee Erik Høiskar at the emergency clinic at the hospital. He is worried that it will harm the patients. Among other things, by delaying treatment.
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Frp, Sv, Krf and others react to Ingvild Kjerkol’s hospital speech – news Trøndelag
