– What I find frightening is that patients get their treatment delayed, in conditions where time is crucial for the outcome. The longer the patient waits, the greater the risk of the condition worsening. – Does it happen often? – It happens, and it can have critical and fatal outcomes. That’s what Daniel Granström, shop steward for permanently employed doctors who work day and night at the emergency room in Trondheim, says. Even before the pandemic, employees at the emergency room in Trondheim noticed that there were too few doctors and nurses on duty at night, according to trade union representative Daniel Granström. Photo: Daniel Granström Waiting times up to six hours Last Sunday, 46 patients were waiting for help when he came on night duty. The waiting times were record long. They are three doctors who go on duty at 11 p.m. One of the doctors is ambulatory and mostly works in the ambulance. – The working hours at night have led to waiting times without medical supervision of up to six hours, also for patients with serious emergency medical conditions, says Granström. It is not unusual for patients, who have waited a long time for a consultation at the emergency room, to be immediately admitted to the hospital. This can also apply to children who have waited a long time. Now the influx of patients at night is so great that they are unable to handle it properly. More reports of concern Following several reports of concern this summer, the State Administrator in Trøndelag carried out an inspection at the emergency room in Trondheim. The introduction of the new records system Helseplattformen then presented major challenges. The state administrator takes the concern at the emergency room in Trondheim seriously, says assistant county doctor Frode Engtrø. Photo: Privat The municipality believed that patient safety was taken care of, but since then the pressure on the emergency department has only increased. – There is no doubt that many patients in the waiting room, and long waiting times on the phone, mean that there is a greater risk that patients will not receive the treatment they should have. These are concerns we take seriously. So says Frode Engtrø, assistant county doctor at the State Administrator in Trøndelag. He believes this is linked to the capacity of the GP scheme, which results in increased applications to the emergency room. The state administrator has therefore asked the municipality to explain in more detail what they are doing to strengthen GP services. – The municipality has ongoing responsibility for ensuring that the provision at the ambulance service is sound, and we expect them to make use of the information they also receive from union representatives and employees, says Engtrø. Health and welfare director Wenche Dehli in Trondheim municipality is working to ensure better and more stable staffing at the emergency room. Photo: Kirsti Kringstad / news Want to strengthen staffing – We are working a lot to improve the working conditions at the emergency room. That’s what health and welfare director Wenche Dehli says in Trondheim municipality. More nurses are to be employed, and they are in dialogue with the doctors about future staffing. – It is a stressful situation. There has been a lot of overtime and extra hire. We are working to fill positions to ensure more stable staffing. She also believes that the pressure on emergency services may be due to the fact that more people are without a GP in Trondheim. – There are many people who stay in the city, students and others, who visit the emergency room because they do not have their GP nearby. This is a situation that the big cities do not have the means to deal with. Trade union representative Daniel Granström hopes the emergency room will be staffed based on how many people actually make contact. – I hope there will be a change, because now there are several night doctors who are considering quitting. Several night doctors at the emergency room in Trondheim are considering quitting their jobs. Photo: Morten Andersen / news
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Increased risk of the seriously ill ending up in a queue at the emergency room in Trondheim, claims union representative – news Trøndelag
