The case in summary A new report commissioned by the Medical Association shows that Norwegian hospitals lack maintenance and equipment worth NOK 110 billion. At Nordlandssykehuset in Bodø, around 80 doctors work in a barracks rig designed for 35 people due to a lack of space in the hospital building itself. The report from Menon Economics suggests that NOK 110 billion be invested in buildings and equipment until 2030, which corresponds to approximately NOK 18 billion a year if you start in 2024. The president of the medical association, Anne-Karin Rime, believes that a large part of the problem lies in how the hospitals are financed, and suggests that operation and investment be separated. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAi. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. There is a Christmas atmosphere at Nordlandssykehuset in Bodø. Poinsettias hang in several of the windows. Santa has visited. On the ground, the white plowshares are starting to get tall. A couple of doctors come out into the bitter winter cold. They only wear short-sleeved work clothes and sandals. They rush through the snow to a tired barrack rig set up in the parking lot next to the hospital. This barrack rig is the office of around 80 doctors at Nordlandssykehuset. Even though it is only designed for 35 people. In the car parks around Nordlandssykehuset, there are several barracks that form offices for a number of hospital staff. They are old and in poor condition. Photo: Marius Guttormsen / news – The money for renovation ran out on the road. This barrack has stood for at least 20 years. That’s what shop steward for the senior doctors at Nordlandssykehuset, Frida Andræ, says. The hospital building itself does not have space for all these office spaces. – I have understood it to mean that it was never planned for the barracks to stand for so long. But there has simply not been the money to find a better solution. She says that the doctors are reluctant to use the impractical office premises more than absolutely necessary. – It is impractical to get here. And when it’s cramped, it’s difficult to both get a break from work and enough oxygen. The doctors need office space, both to read medical records, review test results and talk to patients on the phone. The doctors in Bodø are probably not the only ones who work under demanding conditions in Hospital Norway. Inside the cramped office in one of the barrack rigs, four doctors are supposed to share a few square metres. Photo: Marius Guttormsen / news New report: This is how much it costs That Norwegian hospitals are not completely healthy is nothing new. In 2011, the Storting raised the alarm about the technical condition of the hospitals. Ten years later, the National Audit Office determined that things had only gotten worse. This could have serious consequences for patient care, concluded auditor-general Per-Kristian Foss. Now the Medical Association has commissioned a report from Menon Economics to quantify the backlog more carefully. The analysis agency believes that Hospital Norway needs NOK 110 billion in investments in buildings and equipment. “This will provide a break out of the negative spiral and stimulate a sustainable economy in the specialist healthcare service,” the report states. Read what the Ministry of Health and Care Services says about the recent report further down in the matter. The new report commissioned by the Medical Association in the hands of president Anne-Karin Rime. Photo: Odd Skjerdal / news The analysis agency proposes to distribute the money year by year until 2030. This corresponds to around NOK 18 billion a year if you start in 2024. Menon Economics believes that this will save money in the long term. “Over a longer time perspective, we find that the reduced future operating costs will more than compensate for the investment costs, and give a positive net present value of more than NOK 260 billion.” Several times a day, the 80 or so doctors with offices in the barrack rig have to walk in small shoes and work clothes through the weather and wind to get to the hospital building and the patients. Superintendent Frida Andræ had for the occasion put on a little more sturdy footwear due to large amounts of snow. Photo: Marius Guttormsen / news Want to distinguish between operation and investment – I am concerned about the rate of investment we have now. That’s what the president of the Norwegian Medical Association, Anne-Karin Rime, says. She believes that a large part of the problem lies in how the hospitals are financed. – The financing model itself means that the hospitals have to cut back on operations in order to finance these new buildings, and cannot afford to build either. – As the Health Personnel Commission has said, the employees must work even more efficiently in the future if we are to manage to have the same services in the future. And then we need buildings that are functional. We need more rooms, and we need workstations where both doctors and nurses can work, says president Anne-Karin Rime of the Medical Association. Photo: Odd Skjerdal / news When the hospitals were subject to the county municipalities, earmarked funds were transferred for investment in buildings and equipment. This ceased when the hospitals became subject to the state, and switched to an enterprise model. The hospitals then received a combined sum of money, and had to prioritize the money themselves between running treatment, paying staff and investing in buildings and equipment. But the state helps with loans for, among other things, renovations or brand-new hospitals, provided that the health institutions can provide 30 percent of the money themselves. The government has proposed reducing this requirement to 10 per cent. – It is a difficult discussion. We probably lean towards operations having to be separated from investment, because operations constantly go beyond the need for investment, Rime continues. – But is it realistic to ask for NOK 110 billion? – It is the politicians who must decide. There is a lot of money, but we know that the health service is currently in an extremely challenging situation. We are getting older and we live in a long country where we need good services throughout the country. In addition, we must have preparedness. It costs money, says Rime. Refurbished – broke with NOK 330 million Nordlandssykehuset is among the hospitals that come out best in the national survey carried out by the National Audit Office in 2021. This is largely due to the fact that a significant part of the hospital in Bodø has been refurbished, a renovation that broke with NOK 330 million kroner. – It was absolutely necessary to refurbish and rebuild in Bodø, which was from the 1970s, Andræ continues. The money was used up before the psychiatry premises at Nordlandssykehuset could be taken over. The oldest building at the psychiatric health and addiction clinic in Nordlandssykehuset dates from 1929. – Psychiatric hospitals were seen a little differently 100 years ago, says senior doctor Andræ. Photo: KÅRE RIIBE RAMSKJELL – Both in Lofoten and in psychiatry in Bodø, the premises are so unsuitable that it is difficult to work. It requires a lot more from the employees to be able to offer good care and treatment for the patients, continues Andræ. The Ministry: Will propose measures over the New Year – It is known that several hospitals in Norway are in need of modernization and investment, says State Secretary Karl Kristian Bekeng in the Ministry of Health and Care. He says that this is one of the reasons why the Hospital Committee has specifically considered the financing of hospital buildings in its mandate. – The committee has come up with several proposals which the government is now considering. Karl Kristian Bekeng is state secretary for the Labor Party in the Ministry of Health and Care. Photo: Esten Borgos / Borgos Foto AS He also refers to the Health Personnel Commission’s report, which points out that one of the objectives is to reduce the need for labour. – This can be achieved through investments in buildings, medical-technical equipment and user-friendly digital solutions as well as better division of tasks and organisation. Bekeng says that the government will propose measures that strengthen hospital finances when the national health and cooperation plan is presented over the New Year.
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New report shows maintenance backlog in hospitals of NOK 110 billion – news Nordland
