– There are tears. People are tired and feel a general uncertainty about their working days. I’m affected myself, says Anette Olsen, site trustee at the medical bedside post in Kristiansund. This week, news reported that 20 nurses on medical bedside duty in Kristiansund have quit in the past year, which is described by the union as a “complete crisis”. Now several people in the rental will also soon disappear. The department head, section head and assistant section head have all resigned. Anette Olsen says the employees understand well that more people quit, and especially the section manager, who is tasked with professional soundness and limited resources. (Archive image) Photo: Marius André Jenssen Stenberg / news For years there has been a dispute over a new joint hospital for Nordmøre and Romsdal. After it was decided that it would be built outside Molde, many feared that the hospital in Kristiansund would struggle with recruitment. In 2014, a report came out that warned that it could be difficult to maintain a good working environment at the hospital that was closed down. Tears and uncertainty The last of the three in the management to resign was the assistant section manager this week. Olsen said that there were tears and despair among the employees when the news came. – They cannot imagine how this is going to go, and that of course affects the daily workload and the working environment, says Olsen. She says that those who work on the bedside shift already have a high physical workload, but that these dismissals increase the psychological burden, as the employees do not know what they are going to do each day. – It is a very depressing situation. – I would like to think that they feel that they are hanging a little in the air, says Kari-Anne Thygesen. She is the chief shop steward for the Norwegian Nurses’ Association at the hospital in Kristiansund. Kari-Anne Thygesen agrees with Anette Olsen that the employees will probably meet for an indefinite period of time. (Archive image) Photo: Eirik Haukenes / news Thygesen says she hears that the working environment in the department is good, but that the workload is quite heavy. She also believes that the employees will face a somewhat more uncertain everyday in the future. – If something happens, it can be unclear who to contact, says Thygesen. If management does not take the situation seriously, Olsen says the employees are very understanding that people quit their jobs at the bedside. – It’s a demanding job and all the time trying to ensure professionally sound staffing, but seeing that the calculation doesn’t add up. She believes this is a result of the middle managers in the department not being able to make the decisions they need to get the wheels turning. – They are bound by what managers and directors higher up in the system decide, even if this goes beyond the professional soundness of the patients and the working conditions of the employees, says Olsen. She believes that the hospital management is aware of the problems, but does not deal with them sufficiently. – We feel that they have not taken the situation at the medical bedside seriously for a long time. Have come to grips with the problem Head of department Monicha Strand Isaksen and head of clinic Britt Rakvåg Roald respond to news by e-mail. Isaksen writes that it is worrying that so many nurses have resigned in the past year and that the situation at the department has been challenging for a long time as patients ready for discharge have been lying in bed. – I believe that both the section manager and the head of department have had the authority to make decisions related to the staffing of the bedside post. Recruitment has been a big challenge for us over time, but we have worked well with compensatory measures and we are constantly working on recruitment, writes Isaksen. She also writes that several measures have been initiated to improve the situation at the department: Measures on medical bed post Regular dialogue with Kristiansund municipality to find solutions related to the challenge of patients ready for discharge Employed healthcare workers and postal assistants who can solve more of the tasks that the nurses previously had to perform Lights out trainer positions with a recruitment supplement of NOK 25,000 Employed urgently – and reception medicines that can improve the patient flow for the bedside post Project with a pharmacy technician who can assist in the operation Hiring from a temporary agency Close cooperation with the occupational health service, shop stewards, the protection service and employees to find measures Head of Department Monicha Strand Isaksen in an email to news. Britt Rakvåg Roald writes that new department heads will be in place on 1 March and that the position of section leader is vacant, and that the role of assistant section leader is an important function that will also be replaced. Section managers and assistant section managers who resign from their positions were informed about the article in advance, but do not wish to comment on the matter or explain publicly why they are resigning.
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Large parts of the staff at the medical bedside post at the hospital in Kristiansund have resigned – news Møre og Romsdal – Local news, TV and radio
