The case in summary The adult patients in Helse Møre and Romsdal wait the longest for mental health care in the whole country. Helse Møre og Romsdal manages a deficit of half a billion. Major cuts are announced to bring the economy into balance. The clinic for mental health and substance abuse has been told to save at least 30 million. One of the services that is in danger of being cut is the outpatient follow-up team at the district psychiatric center in Molde. Patients who do not receive help have the right to treatment elsewhere, which can be more expensive for the healthcare provider. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAI. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. – I think it’s a scandal. I hardly believe it, says “Tore”. news knows the man’s identity. He has been anonymised because it is too burdensome for him to appear with his name and picture. The patients in Helse Møre og Romsdal are the ones who have to wait the longest to get mental health care in the whole country. Now major cuts have been announced to bring the economy into balance. Helse Møre og Romsdal manages a deficit of half a billion and Helse Midt demands financial clean-up. Meiner the offer has saved his life. The Health Care Authority must save at least 200 million in the budget for next year, and of this cut, the Clinic for Mental Health and Addiction has been told to save at least 30 million. One of the services that is in danger of being cut is the outpatient follow-up team at the district psychiatric center in Molde. “Tore” has received help from the ambulatory team for many years, and is upset about the cut proposal. He has bipolar disorder, and believes this healthcare service has saved his life several times. – I have been suicidal three times, and they have helped me out of it. I also think they have prevented me from being admitted ten times, he says. “Tore” believes that the help he receives from the outpatient team has ensured that he has avoided being hospitalized ten times. Photo: Frederik Winness Ringnes / news Unthinkable “Tore” believes that the most important thing about the ambulatory team is that he thinks they really care about him, and that he can send a message and ask for an appointment if there is a crisis. – And then they called me up, and I had to cry on the phone. They simply make me feel like a good guy, that I’m not completely snowed in, as it were. TTore: Life is a bit challenging right now. Tired, discouraged, little faith in the future. General crap. It’s not blazing hot, but it’s on the way down, and it’s a bit tough. He believes that it is completely inconceivable that the health care provider will actually save money by discontinuing the offer, because it will lead to the patients needing help elsewhere. – It hurts the most to think of those who are sicker than I am right now. When you lie there in the fetal position because you are so bad… “Tore” is afraid of what will happen if he loses his offer after the New Year. Right now he is doing well, and he gives credit for that to the outpatient team. Photo: Frederik Winness Ringnes / news – Need for strengthening The board of trustees for the psychologists in Helse Møre and Romsdal, Siri Næs, fears that both treatment offers and positions will disappear when the board of health will reach its budget targets. She says the patient capacity is now all over, and that they are struggling to get rid of the waiting lists. – Mental healthcare and substance abuse treatment is an area that basically needs strengthening, and it is also a political direction that it should be strengthened, she says. Olav Lødemel is managing director of Helse Møre og Romsdal. Photo: Remi Sagen / news Managing Director Hans Olav Lødemel in Helse Møre og Romsdal confirms that the health care undertaking is in a demanding financial situation, and that the Clinic for Mental Health and Addiction must therefore also cut costs, as the other clinics must. – The Clinic for Mental Health and Addiction has decided to shield outpatient activity within children and young people and adults, as well as the provision for the most seriously ill in the budget work, he says. – Dyrare Næs believes that major cuts in psychiatry will not necessarily lead to them saving money. The reason is that patients for whom the healthcare undertaking does not have capacity have the right to treatment elsewhere. – This way the healthcare company gets the bill, which can be three to four times more expensive than what the same treatment costs in the company, she says. Siri Næs is a corporate trustee for the Norwegian Psychological Association in Helse Møre and Romsdal. Photo: Terje Reite / news Siri Næs believes that Helse Møre and Romsdal have had an extra challenge due to the fact that they have to bear the extra costs of introducing the Helseplattforma record system. – There are many different opinions on whether the Health Platform is good or not, but in any case it is worrying that it is being introduced when there is no funding for it. Published 21.10.2024, at 06.13
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Longest waiting time in the country – big cuts in psychiatry services await in Helse Møre og Romsdal – news Møre og Romsdal – Local news, TV and radio
