Until then, the patients at the drug addiction clinic at the University Hospital of Northern Norway’s Department of Addiction Treatment Ung stay behind open doors. They must have earned it after going through detoxification. Now they are followed up medically, and to learn to think about other things than the next shot. But a few days ago professional development nurse Jørgen Arntzen was told that the department, which treats young patients between the ages of 18 and 32 from all over northern Norway, is being merged with the closed department at Åsgård in Tromsø. Professional development nurse Jørgen Arntzen. Photo: Christian Kråkenes / news – In relation to summer time, we know that within the drug field there is a higher risk. There are more people who become intoxicated, and there are also many who do not have a place to live and do not get the help they need, says Arntzen. He fears it could lead to more deaths due to overdose this summer. – There is a risk of dying anyway when you are addicted to drugs. But when you don’t have a treatment offer to go to, that will increase the risk, he says. Avrusing Tromsø and Drug Treatment Ung will be co-operating for two months this summer. Fear of death Mental health and the drug addiction clinic at UNN are still on yellow alert due to a critically high occupancy rate at several sections. In the week after Easter, among other things, 60 patients were admitted to 45 places in the acute psychiatric section. The clinic management has therefore chosen to merge departments this summer in order to move professionals into psychiatry. This leads to young drug-addicted patients who are admitted voluntarily being locked up in a small ward with very sick and abstinent patients. Behind this door will be both young patients who have been through detoxification and patients with major withdrawal symptoms this summer. Photo: Christian Kråkenes / news In addition, such a merger will mean that Drug Treatment Ung will only be able to offer drug treatment to five patients throughout the summer, as opposed to 15. Unit manager Morten Leivseth at the drug addiction and special psychiatric clinic fears that this will result in patients ending their treatment in a vulnerable phase. He shares Arntzen’s concern about the merger. – Collaboration in the summer and the merging of departments is not unusual. But what the staff here are worried about is that it is a very vulnerable patient group that is affected, says Leivseth. Unit manager Morten Leivseth (left) and professional development nurse Jørgen Arntzen are concerned about what they describe as a vulnerable patient group. Photo: Christian Kråkenes / news Fear of relapse Andreas Wahl Blomkvist is acting senior doctor in drug and addiction medicine at UNN, and head of the Foreningen Tryggerere Ruspolitik’s advisory committee. He believes the merger will make the offer less flexible. – In drug treatment, individual assessments and adjustments in the treatment are often necessary. But when all the patients have to be in one and the same department, and this is a closed record, then the offer becomes less flexible, he says. Andreas Wahl Blomkvist fears that patients will withdraw from the treatment. Photo: Privat He fears that this will lead to certain patients not receiving the treatment they should receive. – In the worst case, it could lead to patients being discharged and then at a higher risk of relapse to drug use and the consequences that can entail, says Blomkvist. Does not feel heard Earlier this year, Leivseth prepared a risk assessment to highlight the risks of merging the departments. Because at Christmas they also experienced being merged. – We have taken with us experiences from there and tried to shed light on challenges that may arise, and how it can affect both first-time patients and also employees throughout the summer, he says. Professional development nurse at the mental health and substance abuse clinic at UNN, Jørgen Arntzen, fears major consequences for the patients when the departments are merged. Photo: CHRISTIAN KRAKENES / news However, he feels that professionals and employees are not heard by the management, and that the decision was made without the risk assessment being read first. – The decision had already been made when we put it on the table, says Leivseth. – Necessary amalgamation – It is important that the employees are involved and are heard in matters that affect employees’ working conditions and the environment. The management is concerned with transparency and participation in this type of process. There will still be situations where the clinic management has to make decisions that not everyone will necessarily agree with, says clinic manager Eirik Stellander at the mental health and drug addiction clinic at UNN. He says the merger is necessary to be able to maintain a proper emergency service within the addiction field. Åsgård psychiatric hospital. Photo: Christian Kråkenes / news By merging the departments, they will also be able to maintain an offer for young patients with drug problems. – The clinic management believes that there is no reason to believe that merging units and reallocating healthcare personnel will lead to serious patient injuries or incidents. But I also share the concerns that the measures we are taking will result in reduced availability for some patients, says Stellander. According to the clinic manager, it is not the hospital’s demanding financial situation that is the reason for the merger. It is a consequence of increased preparedness, a very demanding operational situation over time, high levels of sickness absence and a shortage of health personnel. Stellander says it is considered necessary to strengthen the 24-hour capacity in mental health care in Tromsø for three weeks, which could lead to the closure of Drug Treatment Restart during these weeks.
ttn-69
Helse Nord is merging departments at the mental health and drug addiction clinic at UNN Tromsø this summer – news Troms and Finnmark
