– We get through within a day, but it’s a bit of a struggle every now and then, says Cecilie Eliassen (31). She works as a nurse in the emergency room at Sørlandet Hospital in Kristiansand. The last few weeks have been extremely busy at work. Dope visits must be planned carefully and snacks must be brought in hand. She is often responsible for 4–5 patients at the same time. – In addition, I have to run if the emergency alarm goes off and can then be gone for an hour and a half while the patient lies vulnerable in reception. It feels uncomfortable and sometimes downright indefensible, she says. Corridor patients There are an unusually large number of patients in the country’s hospitals now before Christmas. The hospitals are filling up with patients with flu, RS virus, covid-19, falls and broken bones. In addition, there is a high rate of sickness absence among employees. Chris Peter Grasaas-Albrecht is unit manager at the emergency room in Kristiansand. The list of patients who have been admitted and will be admitted is long. – During the next few hours it will be full here and that’s a good thing. Then we have to place the patients in the corridors or where there is physical space in the emergency department. It is inappropriate and absolutely the last solution, he says. Taking care of fire, infection and personal protection when there are so many patients in a limited area in the emergency department is also challenging. Section manager Anne Cathrine Nyberg and unit manager at the emergency room at the hospital in Kristiansand Chris Peter Grasaas-Albrecht have busy days. Photo: Heidi Ditlefsen / news Wants more time with the children The unit leader is excited about how Christmas will be. An ever-increasing flow of patients, full beds and many sick employees make the solitaire very demanding. – If we can’t cover the shifts, we have to order someone to come into work. We have not done it so far and hope we can avoid it when employees are to have well-deserved time off with their families. Nurse Eliassen has two small children at home. She hopes to get more time with them at Christmas, but that is not at all certain. – I hope I can spend time with my family, but I feel a responsibility towards the patients and colleagues. In crises, we stand up. Nurse at Sørlandet Hospital in Kristiansand Cecilie Eliassen says that she uses a lot of her energy at work. Photo: Heidi Ditlefsen / news – You have to, you have to Nurse colleague Stian Bergum (40) has worked in the emergency room for a year and a half. He has never been as busy at work as he has been in recent weeks. – I now feel that it is approaching the maximum of what I can live with at work. Now it’s going from blow to blow from the morning. He is prepared that he may have to work at Christmas, when he actually has time off. – If you have to you have to. It’s part of the job here, but I hope to avoid it. Nurse at the emergency room at Sørlandet Hospital Stian Bergum says some patients now have to wait longer than usual. Photo: Heidi Ditlefsen / news Several Norwegian hospitals have chosen to raise the preparedness level to green level. Among others, Oslo University Hospital, Ahus, Vestre Viken, Gjøvik, Hamar, Lillehammer and Vestfold. Heightened preparedness means, among other things, that employees can be ordered back to work, even if they are on Christmas break. Sørlandet Hospital decided today at a meeting to reintroduce the use of masks when contacting patients. They have chosen not to raise the emergency level, but are following the situation closely. – Absolutely extreme right now At the Hospital in Vestfold, the situation is pressing. There are full beds, waiting times at the emergency center and high levels of sickness absence. The hospital does not know how the big picture develops from hour to hour. Director Stein Kinserdal has therefore felt compelled to put the hospital on green alert. – It is absolutely extreme now. We hear that from all health organizations in the country. Either they are, or they are planning to go on standby. Stein Kinserdal, director at the Hospital in Vestfold. Photo: Rune Christoffer Holm / news According to the director, the influx of patients is increasing more than in several years. – Now it hits with both flu, covid, RS virus and various different things that very rarely come at the same time, he says. In the first instance, the hospital plans to mobilize employees voluntarily at Christmas. – Then we’ll see if we have to escalate it with either wage incentives, or in the worst case bring people in to work extra, says Kinserdal. It must be prioritized harder in the hospitals. In many places, only the very sickest are allowed to come to hospital. Some planned treatments are postponed. The hospitals also want as many patients as possible out to the municipalities. This means that there will also be increased pressure on the municipal health service. – Many are afraid that the Christmas holidays will end. The Norwegian Nurses Association has almost 130,000 members. Every single day, the association receives messages from worried nurses about very hectic days. With an unusually large number of patients and an extra number of sick employees, there will be great pressure on those who are left at work, says first deputy chairman of the Nurses’ Association, Silje Naustvik. – It is clear that it is tough for the nurses to know that they are going into a Christmas holiday with very high pressure at work. You may also be afraid of getting sick yourself, so that there will be even more to do for those who are left. Silje Naustvik, first deputy chairman of the Norwegian Nurses Association. Photo: SUNNIVA TONSBERG GASKI / SUNNIVA TONSBERG GASKI In some places, employees have already been told to be on standby for Christmas. – There are probably many people who are afraid that the Christmas holiday will end and that they will have to return to work due to high work pressure and extensive sickness absence, says Naustvik. The deputy manager describes that many nurses walk with extra high shoulders in view of increased preparedness in the hospitals. It comes on top of two years of a state of emergency due to the pandemic. – Of course it is a burden. There is a stretch in the team now for many who have faced tough times for several years. Now we are entering another Christmas where nurses may risk having to go to work even if it was not planned.
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– In crises we stand up – news Vestfold and Telemark – Local news, TV and radio
