The Icelandic doctor with 20 years’ experience is used to working weeks of over 50 hours. But in the summer of 2020, she felt that the duties were too many and the pressure too great. She had constant headaches and struggled with poor sleep, but had no time to rest. In order to get a three-week summer holiday with her family, she had to take extra shifts at the inter-municipal emergency room, in addition to full days as a GP. – His health was not at its best and there were typical stress symptoms that I should have known. But we doctors stand by as long as we can, says Hulda Birna Eiriksdottir. Had a stress-related cardiac arrest Late in the evening on Saturday 5 September, she was going out for a short evening walk with the dog, but felt a sudden pain in her chest. Hours before the cardiac arrest, Hulda Birna Eiriksdottir was on a mushroom trip in the forest. Photo: PRIVATE She thought it was something she had to endure, and took a tablet. The mother of four does not remember coming home from the trip. – My son found me lifeless on the floor. Fortunately, he was able to pick up his father, who is also a doctor. Her husband started active cardiopulmonary resuscitation and called an ambulance. They regained a heartbeat within 20 minutes. She was then transported by helicopter to the hospital in Arendal. When she woke up after three days, she was told that she had had a stress-related cardiac arrest. Hulda Birna Eiriksdottir woke up three days after the cardiac arrest in the hospital in Arendal. Photo: Privat The condition is also called spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD), and particularly affects women under the age of 50. – The first reaction was disbelief. I couldn’t make it out, but I had clear evidence around me. I was calm but embarrassed. Eiriksdottir says that she has worked in an ambulance herself and was used to being the one who comes when something happens. – It took some time to accept everything. Criticizes sluggish measures After digesting the dramatic event, she also felt a sense of anger. Both because she had not taken better care of her own health, but also because of the system that allowed it to go so wrong. As a former shop steward, she has seen other doctors fall ill from stress and pressure from all sides. – It’s taking a toll on health. I have had some colleagues who have become seriously ill and passed away, and there has been a marked increase in recent years, says Eiriksdottir. Two months after the cardiac arrest, Eiriksdottir was back at work as a doctor. – The motivation was to get back to work and be present for the patients, she says. Photo: VIGDIS HELLA / news She believes the government is doing too little with the GP crisis, and is worried that younger colleagues do not dare to become GPs. – It is not meant to scare people. Being a GP is a fantastic opportunity to participate in patients’ lives in a unique way. But there has to be a change, and it has to happen quickly. It is no longer viable, and we have lost some good colleagues along the way, she says. – Not acceptable Deputy chairman of the health and care committee, Bård Hoksrud (Frp), finds it strong to hear the GP’s story. Other GPs have told of similar situations, he says. Deputy chairman of the health and care committee at the Storting, Bård Hoksrud, believes that it is not acceptable that GPs have such a tough workload. Photo: JOHN-ANDRE SAMUELSEN / news – The number of people lacking a GP is increasing every single month. This means that there will be an even tougher burden on the GPs we have. Then we may get more cases like this, and that is not acceptable, says Hoksrud. Now he expects the Minister of Health and Welfare to do something quickly. – No one else would we have accepted such a working environment with. That means we have to take it seriously. We cannot wait until May to clear up the challenges at the GPs, says Hoksrud. State Secretary in the Ministry of Health and Care, Ole Henrik Krat Bjørkholt, says they must take responsibility for solving the crisis. – The GP scheme is our top priority in the 2023 budget, says State Secretary in the Ministry of Health and Care, Ole Henrik Krat Bjørkholt. Photo: Esten Borgos – We understand that people are impatient. So are we. The GP scheme is and must be the mainstay of our joint health service, says Bjørkholt. He points out that the GP scheme is their top priority in the 2023 budget. Almost NOK 1 billion has been set aside to strengthen the GP scheme. A fast-working expert committee has also been set up, says Bjørkholt. Saved by the son who played Hulda Birna Eiriksdottir hopes her story can be a wake-up call. – Not least in terms of what you expose the family to. It affects them the hardest. It is not without reason that doctors have a high incidence of depression, suicide attempts and alcoholism, she says. For her, family was her salvation. GP and mother of four Hulda Birna Eiriksdottir was saved by her son who was sitting up playing. Photo: PRIVATE It was thanks to her son who sat up and played games that night that she survived. He reacted to his mother’s breathing down the hall. – I have never been so happy with gaming. It would have been a completely different story if he hadn’t sat up and heard it happen. At least that would have been the end of that story, she says. Makes no secret of demanding working days In Skien municipality, where Eiriksdottir works, 6,000 patients are now without a GP. From September there will be 12,000. The workload of GPs has been very high and demanding over time, explains municipal chief physician Trude B. Sanden. In Skien municipality, the serious situation with the GP scheme causes great concern, says municipal superintendent Trude Belseth Sanden. Photo: PRIVAT – When, in addition, several doctors resign, as is the case in Skien, the burden on the remaining doctors is further aggravated. Many have experienced the emergency room as an additional burden, she says. According to the municipality itself, during the past 2.5 years they have been working on measures to stabilize the scheme. Among these, there are fewer guards at the emergency room and more doctors on duty.
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GP worked on cardiac arrest – news Vestfold and Telemark – Local news, TV and radio
