In May this year, an ambulance was on a mission in the Oslo area. It is urgent to get the patient to hospital. They put on blue lights and sirens. Then the car lost engine power. The ambulance personnel stopped the car. Restart it. They reached 80 km/h. Then lose that power again. AMK was contacted, says the notice to the Norwegian Health Authority. On the motorway, the patient had to be transferred to a new ambulance. This could even be serious. The patient had to undergo a transplant. They would not have done that, had there not been another ambulance available. Something like this has happened several times, all over Norway. Like here in Førde, when they noticed that the car wasn’t working as it should: No new ambulances Ola Borstad is head of the ambulance department at Oslo University Hospital. The ambulance is one of the most important tools they have. And they depend on them being operationally reliable, he explains. – But both high mileage and age contribute to reduced operational reliability. Every year they, and all other healthcare companies in Norway, order new ambulances. But they do not get all the ambulances they have ordered. Ambulance manager Ola Borstad said that the day before he met news, one of the ambulances was going to a workshop. A reserve ambulance drove behind it. Before they arrived, the spare stopped, so that it had to be driven to the workshop on a trailer instead. Photo: Rolf Petter Olaisen / news One of the reasons is that they are produced in, among other places, Ukraine. Another is the corona pandemic, when there was a problem with transport all over the world. Backlog throughout the country The ambulances drive on dirt roads, motorways and in winding city streets. Short and long trips. Calmly, or with the gas in the bottom and blue lights on. This means that they wear out faster than normal cars. The week before news met Borstad at Ullevål in Oslo, two ambulance teams were without a car. Not even a spare car was to be found. Photo: Rolf Petter Olaisen / news news has contacted all healthcare organizations in the country. The majority said that they have several old cars, where operational reliability is lower and expenses are higher than they should be. Check your hospital here: Oslo University Hospital HF and Akershus University Hospital HF Ordered 18 ambulances in 2022, and 18 in 2023. Eight from 2022 will be delivered in November/December 2023. One was received earlier this year. The rest will hopefully be delivered during 2024. Hospital Innlandet HF ordered 14 cars in 2022. Eleven of these were delivered, three are estimated to be delivered in December 2023. In 2023 they ordered eleven new ambulances. Only one of them has been delivered. The rest have an unknown delivery date, but it is estimated that they will be delivered in 2024. Helse Midt-Norge ordered 21 ambulances in 2022. Two of these have not been delivered, but are expected within the next few months. In 2023, they also ordered 21 ambulances. None of these have been delivered yet, but seven of them will be produced in the next few months. Østfold Hospital ordered six ambulances in 2022. Three of these will be delivered in 2023, three early in 2024. In 2023 they ordered six cars. These are planned to be delivered in the last half of 2024. Vestfold Hospital has replaced ambulances in both 2022 and 2023. Expects four new ambulances to be delivered before the end of 2023. Telemark Hospital ordered four new ambulances in 2022/2023. Two of these were delivered in October. Two of them were supposed to be delivered before the end of the year, but will not be delivered until 2024. Sørlandet hospital has 35 ambulances in operation, and 12-15 reserve vehicles. Some have driven over 750,000 kilometres. They have ordered new cars in both 2022 and 2023. Half of them from 2022 have been delivered, half will be assembled in the next few weeks. Unknown delivery date for cars from the 2023 order. Helse Stavanger HFS will receive three ambulances in 2023, which are backlogs from 2021 and 2022. In 2022/2023 they ordered four new cars, these will be delivered as soon as possible. Helse Bergen HF Ordered six new ambulances in both 2022 and 2023. Five of these arrived in 2022. Three are expected in November to December 2023, and one early in 2024. It is uncertain when the last three can be delivered. Helse Førde They got eight cars in 2022, after an established need for replacement in previous years. In December 2022, they ordered four more ambulances. They are expected to be delivered at the beginning of 2024. Helgeland Hospital ordered two cars in 2023. These are expected to be delivered in April 2024. University Hospital Nord-Norge HF Ordered eight ambulances in 2023. It is uncertain when these will be delivered, but they may arrive in the first quarter of 2024. Nordlandssjukehuset They ordered five new ambulances in 2022. Three of them have been delivered, the last two expected to be delivered before Christmas 2023. In 2023 they ordered five new ones. All of these have been delivered and put into operation. Finnmark Hospital got five new ambulances in 2022, but none in 2023, despite the fact that they replaced four or five cars. They have ordered newer ones, but used ambulances to make up for the backlog. In 2024, they wish to order eight to nine new cars. In some places, such as Innlandet and Oslo, they have experienced not having enough ambulances for the duty team at work. It happens because of technical failure or unexpected workshop visits. OUS has 19 ambulance stations in Oslo, Akershus and Glåmdalen. Photo: Rolf Petter Olaisen / news At the University Hospital in Northern Norway, they fear that it will be problematic to keep ambulances in operation if the situation does not improve. But it can do that in 2024. Ole-Magne Kleven is head of department in Hospital Purchasing. They are the ones who decide who will be allowed to deliver equipment to hospitals in Norway. He has received feedback that production is back to normal. Now the work will be to catch up the backlog. – But we are probably talking about a delay of up to a year, so we will spend months making up for it. Ole-Magne Kleven, head of department in Hospital Purchasing, says they can buy in extra cars under certain conditions, for example if a car absolutely cannot be used anymore. They have received two such inquiries this year. Photo: Knut-Sverre Horn – Ambulances are being delivered at a steady pace now, so then the healthcare provider can look at where the need is greatest, and put them into operation there. Around a fjord or over a mountain If the car stops, in the worst case scenario it can have serious consequences for the patient. Fortunately, it hasn’t done that yet. Several healthcare companies say that they fear for patient safety. The situation also creates stress for the employees who have the ambulances as their place of work. Photo: Rolf Petter Olaisen / news But there is a significant difference between the Oslo area and the rest of Norway, Borstad points out. In other places, it is often longer until the next ambulance. – Some places you have to drive around a fjord or over a mountain to get to. There is less of it in our area, says the ambulance manager. One of those who are concerned is Trond Carlson. He is clinic manager for pre-hospital services at Finnmark Hospital. – Where there should actually only be one ambulance because of, for example, the population, we have two because of the distances. Here, an assignment can last as long as 10–12 hours. And then it is a long way to go if the ambulance has to be replaced. Trond Carlson at Finnmarksshjukehuset says that they have not had major service interruptions to the cars, so that they have been taken out of service over time. But the concern is there all the time, because the danger increases the older the cars become. Photo: Eirik Palm / Finnmarkssykehuset Not allowed to buy available cars In Oslo, they have spent several million kroner to keep the old cars around. – We are most concerned about patient safety, and for our employees. We are also concerned about a challenge in the economy, says Borstad. The ambulance department at OUS carries out approximately 185,000 assignments and drives approx. 5.5 million kilometers a year. Photo: Rolf Petter Olaisen / news Other healthcare companies confirm the same – they see a significant increase in expenses. Everyone makes sure that the cars get the servicing and repairs they need, and old cars cost more. They might have saved that money if they had received the new ambulances at the right time. And there are new ambulances that could have been delivered. Ambulance manager Ola Borstad says they have reported that they would like more flexibility, and hope that will change in new agreements. Photo: Rolf Petter Olaisen / news Hospitals order cars in various categories. If the exact car in the category they have ordered cannot be delivered, they cannot order another. Borstad explains it simply: – If you buy a TV in the store, but don’t receive it for many months, you can say: “I don’t want to buy from you, but from someone else”. You can’t do that with ambulances. OUS: 27 cars have traveled between 300,000 and 400,000 km. Eight have covered between 400,000 and 500,000 km, and one more than 500,000 km. Photo: Rolf Petter Olaisen / news Can be solved in 2024 Kleven, the head of department in Hospital Procurement, says a change will be made when the new procurement agreements come into force from January. There will be two different contracts for two different producers. – This means that if, for example, production of one type of car stops, you can buy another type instead. This car has four-wheel drive, which is what OUS would prefer. Photo: Rolf Petter Olaisen / news It will provide a more robust access, if one of the producers has a delivery problem. He says they have learned a lot from the situation we have been in in recent years. – You can never fully protect yourself from major global events, such as war and pandemics. news has been in contact with the two suppliers who have an agreement today. They do not wish to comment on the case. Hello! Do you have any thoughts or input after reading this, or tips on other things I should look into? Then I would like to hear from you!
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Healthcare organizations across the country are concerned about problems with the delivery of new ambulances – news Oslo og Viken – Local news, TV and radio
