Several of the country’s hospitals report full emergency departments and capacity problems. The pressured situation has led to St. Olav’s switching to yellow emergency. In addition, the hospitals are struggling with a lack of qualified substitutes in the summer rotation. One third of the staff are already on holiday and must be replaced by substitutes. – On the worst days, we can spend the whole day hiring personnel for one day, sighs unit manager Ragnhild Pedersen at the HR department at Nordland Hospital. HR manager Liss Eberg confirms that the situation is very demanding. There is also a full drought at external temp agencies. – It is much worse this year than previous years. And we’ve been working on this since January, when we saw this coming. The greatest need is for nurses. But there is also a lack of health professionals, assistants, some medical specialists and bioengineers. The hospital is now asking retired nurses, health professionals, nursing students and people who have previously worked as assistants at the hospital to sign up. Among other things, retired nurses can work indefinitely without drawing a pension until 1 September. One of those who has already signed up for service as a call-up substitute is Johanne Elisabeth Rudborg (84). – I am so healthy that I can still work, and I am grateful to have the opportunity. Although she is no longer responsible for dispensing medicines, she does an important job of nursing and care. – I often care for patients who are the same age as my children. Then I think about how lucky I am. PAYING JOB: Johanne Rudborg thinks it is a pity that Norwegian youth opt out of the health subjects. But she can understand why. – It is physically heavy work. Then there is the salary. It needs to step up to make these jobs more attractive. Rich Norway can afford it, she believes. Photo: Barbro Andersen / news She mostly works four shifts a week. – I do this because I like it. It’s rewarding to work with people, and I like that someone needs me. And then I’m a troubled type. I must have something to control, says the 84-year-old. The HR manager praises Johanne and other pensioners for their efforts. – It is absolutely fantastic that Johanne Rudborg will contribute. We have several pensioners at work, but not many who are over 80. The pensioners are former employees with long experience and a lot of knowledge. Cancels planned operations Even with pensioners on the team, the staffing crisis at the hospital has had consequences. The hospital has been to postpone planned operations and hospitalizations that can wait until after the holiday. Beate Sørslett, who is deputy director at the hospital, is concerned. STAFFING CRISIS: – It is important that the staff get their well-deserved holiday after a long period of pandemic, says HR manager Liss Eberg. Here with Deputy CEO Beate Sørslett (left) and department head Cecilie Vasset (right). Photo: Kasper Holgersen / news – It is very challenging. We have large gaps in the staffing plans, especially at the hospital in Bodø and in Vesterålen. Many employees have already gone to great lengths with double work and overtime. Corridor patients At some bed posts, it has begun to fill up with corridor patients. – Some days it has been critically full at the emergency room. At times, we have had medical beds in Vesterålen with up to 160 percent occupancy. It is very challenging, and gives a risk of patient injuries, says Sørslett. She is also concerned about the staff. Behind them they have had a demanding period of pandemic. The new nurses Inga S. Martinussen (22) and Ingeborg D. Stokvik (21) have just started in their first jobs as nurses. NEW JOB: Norway lacks 7,000 nurses, and now the holiday is just around the corner. Nurse Inga S. Martinussen (22) has her first week at work at Nordland Hospital. Photo: Kasper Holgersen / news – We are currently undergoing training, but there is plenty to do. We still feel that we manage to take care of the patients. Filled up with patients ready for discharge The hospital also struggles with patients who do not need treatment from the specialist health service but are people who need care. The municipalities do not have the capacity, and then they end up in hospital instead. This is not due to reluctance on the part of the municipalities, but that they are in the same split as the hospitals, according to Sørslett. In May alone, there were 340 bed days associated with patients ready for discharge at Nordland Hospital. – These are patients who should not really be in the specialist health service. And that affects those who need emergency health care or other specialist health services, says Sørslett. HR manager Liss Eberg fears that Nordland Hospital will also have to increase its preparedness this summer. – We are concerned and prepared for the next step. Fortunately, we have a good collaboration with the shop stewards. Every tenth pensioner at work Department director in the knowledge department in NAV, Ole Christian Lien, says he is impressed with 84-year-old Johanne Rudborg. And she is not at all alone in working as an old-age pensioner. – It is quite common for pensioners to work. – If you look at how many people receive old-age pension and who are still in work, then this number is 109,000. That is a high number. Thus, every tenth old-age pensioner is employed. Over half of these work full time. DIRECTOR: Ole Christian Lien is department director for the knowledge department in NAV. Photo: Eivind W. Skifjeld – This has increased sharply over time, he says. 20 years ago the number was 22,000, and 10 years ago the number had risen to 68,000. There are two reasons for this: – The most important is that the elderly work longer than before. But it is also related to the introduction of flexible retirement age from 62 years with the pension reform in 2011. Thus, more people take out old-age pension several years before they stop working. Most seniors work here It is in the professions health professionals and shop employees that you find the most pensioners in work. This has to do with the fact that they are the two most common jobs in Norway. If, on the other hand, you look at the proportion who work for a long time, there are other professions that stand out, says Lien. – Then there are priests, doctors, dentists, university and college teachers and civil engineers. It’s a slightly different way of looking at the numbers. But it is not only with the seniors that a lot of work is done. New figures from Statistics Norway (SSB) show that there have been 126,000 more employees in the last year. One third of these are between 15 and 24 years old. Thus, employment among young people is also at a record high. – Statistics Norway points out that there is a connection with the fact that there are many vacancies in occupations where there are many young people, for example in the hotel and restaurant industry, says Lien.
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– Like that someone needs me – news Nordland
