The matter in summary Health Minister Ingvild Kjerkol (Ap) will visit the hospital in Lofoten, which is threatened with closure, on Tuesday for the first time since the proposal was put forward. People in Lofoten protest against a proposal to demote the hospital to a district medical centre. A recent opinion poll shows that only 1 in 10 Lofoten residents would vote for the Labor Party if there were elections today, a halving from the general election in 2021. Kjerkol denies that she is in Lofoten to save the Labor Party, and says she is there to obtain information. Local Labor politicians want confirmation that the emergency function and maternity services at the hospital will be preserved. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAi. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. – I would like to tell Kjerkol that we who are young in Lofoten do not feel that it is safe to return after studies to start a family in Lofoten, if there is no hospital here. That’s what Ragnhild Holand (18) says, who today took part in her third torchlight procession to preserve the hospital in Lofoten. Sigve Solberg (18) also wants to talk to the Minister of Health. – We who are young stand together. I want to convey that we who live here do not bleed more slowly than people in the big cities. Both 18-year-olds got to talk to Ingvild Kjerkol. But she could not reassure them. – It is good that you are engaged. If I had been 18, I would probably have gone with a torch myself. You have to fight for what you love. I hope you want to live here in the future as well, she said. Ragnhild Holand (18) and Sigve Solberg (18) went in a torchlight procession in Leknes today. Photo: Vilde Bratland Erikstad / news And added: – Unfortunately, there will be some uncertainty for a while longer. Then we must land good decisions where security and a good health service are what must be achieved. Sigve Solberg was not entirely satisfied with the answers he received. – No, not really. Met with bad polls When Minister of Health Ingvild Kjerkol from the Labor Party arrived at the hospital in Lofoten threatened with closure, she was met by angry hospital protesters, disaffected Labor politicians and a recent opinion poll showing that only 1 in 10 Lofoten residents would vote for the Labor Party if there were elections today. It is more than halved from the general election in 2021, when support was 24.4 per cent in the same municipalities. Both young and old protested against the closure of the hospital at Leknes in Lofoten. Photo: Christian Engelke The Center Party is also falling, with 13.8 percentage points to 6.9 per cent. The Conservative Party, Frp and INP are leading the way, all with 6–7 percentage points. When news meets Kjerkol in Svolvær, she is not surprised by the poor readings. – Insecurity around the hospital has enough impact on this measurement. I understand that people are concerned when such demanding decisions are being made. But it is important to remember that this is only a suggestion. The government will make its decision first in April. IN THE LION’S CAVE: Minister of Health and Care Ingvild Kjerkol (Ap) in place in Lofoten today. Here she will meet hospital staff, local politicians and residents who fear for their local hospital. Photo: Vilde Bratland Erikstad / news She denies that she is in Lofoten to salvage the pieces of the Labor Party in the region. – I’m here to get information. It is important to me to listen to those who live in Lofoten and who face the challenges of personnel shortages on a daily basis. Not least, I look forward to meeting the professionals who take care of the patients to hear their assessments of the major challenges we have in obtaining enough professionals, says Kjerkol. Requires confirmation – We need confirmation that we can keep the emergency function and maternity services, says leader Marit Olsen in the Vågan Labor Party to news. Both school pupils and kindergarten children have been given time off to participate in the demonstration against the proposal against hospital cuts in Lofoten. Kjerkol says it is impressive to see torch trains and hundreds of people of all ages standing along the road between Svolvær and Gravdal. Photo: Bente H. Johansen / news On Tuesday morning, she welcomed Minister of Health Ingvild Kjerkol (Ap) in Svolvær. – Helse Nord is not sitting on the whole truth – The wish is probably greater than the expectations, but we hope she can assure us that it is the Hurdalsplattformen that will form the basis when the government makes its decision. Olsen adds: – We also want to convey that the facts she is presented with from Helse Nord are not the whole truth. There is information that has not been made available and which we think is important to make available. I wish she had come before Vestvågøy Ap made its decision to opt out. It would have saved us too much. There was great media interest when Health and Care Minister Ingvild Kjerkol came to Lofoten today. Photo: Vilde Bratland Erikstad / news – No room in the calendar Ingvild Kjerkol tells news that she would have liked to have come to Lofoten earlier. But that there has been no room in the calendar until today. – It has a very practical rationale. Frp leader Sylvi Listhaug and Sp leader Trygve Slagsvold Vedum have already been to Lofoten. – I don’t control their calendar. I have to manage my own and we have important matters we are working on in the ministry. I am here now, and have met good party friends in Svolvær with wise reflections and clear expectations for the government. Ingvild Kjerkol (Ap) meets employees at the hospital at Gravdal in Lofoten. Photo: Vilde Bratland Erikstad / news – Redd Ap will be lost in Lofoten The local team in Vågan has also considered following Vestvågøy Ap, but ended up continuing in the party. Marit Olsen fears what will happen to the party if it ends up with the hospital being demoted to a district medical centre. – This is already a disaster for Ap, but if that happens I am afraid that Ap will disappear. When asked if Ingvild Kjerkol thinks it’s worth losing members and is almost exterminated in Lofoten for this matter, the Minister of Health replies as follows: – That kind of contradictions cannot be focused on by a responsible party. We are concerned that what we do is understood by the citizens. I think that will be the starting point for the trust the voters judge us on. The fear is that the local hospital will be converted into a district medical centre. Here from the gingerbread town at the hospital in Gravdal. Photo: Vilde Bratland Erikstad / news Rented eight buses The Resource Group for Lofoten Hospitals has rented eight buses that will take Lofoten people who will support the hospital campaign from Leknes to Storeidet. – It is a phenomenal commitment. We hope to have people standing along the road from Leknes to Gravdal hospital. School pupils and kindergarten children must stand along walking and cycling paths, says Eva Karin Busch in the resource group. The message on the banners that the protesters are carrying is that “there is no shame in turning around”. – We are not against changes. But we must keep the emergency preparedness in Lofoten, says Busch. Several companies in the region have given employees time off so that as many people as possible can take part in the celebration. – We have to show Kjerkol what the hospital means, says Teft HR manager Geir Johnsen to Lofotposten. Nordlandssykehuset Gravdal in Lofoten may lose its emergency and maternity services. The final decision will be made in April. Photo: Vilde Bratland Erikstad
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– It is important to remember that this is only a proposal – news Nordland
