Everyday life has become a puzzle that does not solve. – We need three nurses on day shift, three in the evening and three at night. Nine gaps in the duty schedule in one day, sighs unit manager Nadia Sørensen. In addition to the staffing crisis and high levels of sickness absence, the situation at the hospital is made worse by the fact that the municipalities do not bring home patients who have been treated. Therefore, the patients are placed in the corridor on medical bed post at Nordlandssykehuset in Stokmarknes. – It is not an ideal situation. It is not very pleasant for a patient to lie so open in bright light and noise. There are a total of ten vacancies in the bed post Nadia Sørensen manages alone. Most are nursing positions. CORRIDOR PATIENTS: At the country’s hospitals, there are now over 200 patients lying in the corridor because there are not enough beds. Some of them are here at the hospital in Vesterålen. Photo: Helge Lyngmoe / news Several times a day she has to ask people to take extra shifts. Many of them are already in 100 percent positions, and have worked under high pressure for a long time. – If we push them too hard, it could end up in sick leave. We have to take care of the employees we already have, says Sørensen. Severe cuts in operations The situation has led to the hospital in Vesterålen now being on yellow alert. This means that one out of three planned operations is cut. The already demanding situation may become even worse in the future. When Minister of Health Ingvild Kjerkol visited Helgeland’s Rana Hospital before Christmas, she was met by protests against the fact that the maternity facility may be closed for 16 weeks this summer. Photo: Frank Nygård / news Health Minister Ingvild Kjerkol had no help to offer in his annual hospital speech on Tuesday. Hospitals must prioritize hard in the coming year. The flow of money shrinks and the hospitals have to treat fewer patients, postpone new buildings and upgrades. The March order from the Minister of Health means that the management of the health institutions and hospitals must prioritize who will receive health care. And where will they get help. Cool on the walls of Norwegian hospitals It will not be an easy job. In recent years, there have been more and more patients in hospitals, according to the Norwegian Patient Register. In the first eight months of last year, 1.6 million patients received treatment. This is an increase of 3 percent from the previous year. In addition, waiting lists for treatment are increasing. Last year, people waited an average of 66 days for help from the specialist health service, figures from the Directorate of Health show. It is not just the number of patients that has increased. There will also be more people working in the hospitals. Norway is at the top of the world both when it comes to the density of doctors and nurses. Does the bullet on the hospital walls mean that we are treating too many people? Yes, says the Minister of Health. – I would ask the hospitals to look at what they can do less of, she said from the lectern at St. Olav hospital in Trondheim this week. Kjerkol receives support from the Norwegian Medical Association, where medicine professor Ketil Størdal leads the campaign “Make wise choices” against overtreatment. MAKE WISE CHOICES: Ketil Størdal is the spokesperson for “Make wise choices”, a campaign that will reduce examinations and treatments that patients do not benefit from. Photo: Øystein Horgmo / UiO – In some cases, it can be good for the patients if the hospitals cut back on examinations. More treatment is not always better. He points to the fact that the Minister of Health is highlighting the need to reduce laboratory services such as diagnostic imaging. – It is a good example of areas where we have had strong growth that does not necessarily serve the patient. Many hospitals are taking more and more blood samples. The same applies to images, which do not necessarily provide a better basis for decision-making. Then you shouldn’t take such pictures either, says Størdal. High sickness absence and a lot of infection mean that Nordlandssykehuset in Stokmarknes is reducing the number of planned operations. Photo: Kristin Skjefstad Isaksen / news At the same time, he emphasizes that in other cases there are patients who do not receive the treatment they need. Screaming for professionals While professionals and politicians discuss how to solve the pressure on the healthcare system, there are completely different concerns in the hospitals. High work pressure has caused many nurses to flee the profession. Those who work with recruitment in the hospitals notice this. Ann-Tove Jakobsen Sundbakk, unit manager of the surgical department at the hospital in Vesterålen, says that several nurses have resigned in the past year. And the challenges of recruiting new ones are great. – We advertise positions constantly, but there are few applicants. RECRUITMENT PROBLEMS: Ann-Tove Jakobsen Sundbakk, unit manager of the surgical department at the hospital in Vesterålen, talks about major challenges with recruitment. Photo: Helge Lyngmoe / news Lack of nurses and other health workers is costing hospitals dearly. This autumn, the health company Helse Nord was expected to make a loss of a staggering NOK 850 million. In 2020, Helse Nord spent close to half a billion kroner on temporary workers. Sundbakk’s colleague Nadia Sørensen says that without the substitutes it would not have worked. DEPENDING ON SUBSTITUTES: – Without the substitutes it would not have worked, says unit manager Nadia Sørensen. Photo: Helge Lyngmoe / news – Where is the pain threshold for running the hospital? – We must constantly carry out a risk assessment, and have an overview of how many patients we have compared to how many we have at work at any given time. – Money is not the problem Much of the overspending in hospitals is due to overtime and the hiring of substitutes. According to the Norwegian Nurses’ Association, temporary agency expenses have increased by 62 per cent in three years. Helse Nord’s chief executive is concerned that the lack of people could cause the health service to collapse. Because money is not the main problem for Helse Nord, says the health organisation’s new director Marit Lind. CRISIS: – It is very important to establish an understanding that this really is a crisis. An understanding that we cannot continue to operate in the same way, says managing director Marit Lind at Helse Nord. Photo: Pål Hansen / news – People like to point out that Norway is a rich country and that there is enough money, but it is not the money that is the main problem here. But rather the fact that we are unable to get hold of the health workers and professionals we need, says Lind. And comes with a warning: – If we fail to turn this around, and it affects the specialist health service, it will affect the municipal health service as well.
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Hospital crisis in the north – Nadia lacks 10 nurses in her department – news Nordland
