– As far as I know, it is Norway’s largest construction site on land. Director of Finance and Economics Tor Albert Ersdal at Stavanger University Hospital has taken us to Ullandhaug in Stavanger. Here they are building the new hospital for nearly 400,000 people. Tor Albert Ersdal is director of finance and economics at Stavanger University Hospital. Photo: Kjersti Hetland / news The first construction stage is 125,000 square meters and it is finished on the outside. Inside, a single room has been installed a sink, toilet and window with a view of Hafrsfjord. In May 2025, the first patients will receive treatment here. But far from all. – We plan for a construction stage two which is 100,000 square meters and almost as big, says Ersdal. Almost half a hospital has to be built before all operations can be moved from the old to the new. Construction stage two contains, among other things, day surgery, an outpatient clinic and psychiatry. Tor Albert Ersdal in one of the juniper rooms that are ready. Here, patients have a view of Hafrsfjord. Photo: Kjersti Hetland / news Can’t afford to take out a new large loan The goal was once to close the doors of the old hospital on Våland in 2030. Now nobody knows when that might happen. The reason is that the hospital cannot afford to take out another large loan from the state and at the same time finance its operations, i.e. the treatment of patients. It says that almost half a hospital must be built before all operations can be moved from Våland to Ullandhaug. Photo: Kjersti Hetland / news To finance the first construction phase, Helse Stavanger had to borrow over NOK 8 billion. In order to finance construction stage two, they will probably have to borrow a further NOK 11 billion, says the finance director. The hospital cannot afford such a large loan, as the system is today. The consequence is that hospital operations must take place at two different locations for an indefinite period of time. New Stavanger University Hospital Norway’s largest construction project. The first construction phase is scheduled to be ready in May 2025 and has a price tag of NOK 11.3 billion. Originally, the plan was for all operations to be moved from the current hospital on Våland to the new building on Ullandhaug by 2030, but now the final date for the move is completely in the blue. The first construction phase is planned to be 125,000 square meters and have 640 private rooms with private bathrooms. The second construction stage is estimated to cost 11.1 billion kroner in 2021 and to be 100,000 square meters. Sources: Helse Stavanger I think the state must put money on the table – It is an extremely serious situation, says representative from Raudt, Mimir Kristjansson. – We cannot have it like this in one of the most populated regions in the country, that we might have a shared hospital for several decades to come. Mimir Kristjansson (R). Photo: Kristian Skårdalsmo He believes the state must now find means so that the hospital can be completed. Either by allowing more money to the healthcare companies, so that they can borrow more money from the state or by giving interest-free loans. – And in the long term, we have to put an end to the idiotic system, which pretends that a state-owned hospital is something other than the state. This money should have been allowed through the state budget and not through the company, says Kristjansson. I think it is urgent to change the model Today it is the case that healthcare companies have to take out loans from the state to build new hospital buildings. And there is a requirement for an equity capital of 30 per cent. So to be able to afford to take out loans, hospitals have to save money, mainly on operations. – Here it is urgent to change the model. We cannot save for public infrastructure at the cost of patient treatment, says SV’s deputy head, Marian Hussein. Marian Hussein is deputy head of SV. Photo: Javad M. Parsa / NT The Minister of Social Affairs in SV is disappointed that the government did not have more to say in the proposal for the state budget that was presented in October. – We had hoped that they would take some measures to ensure that we are able to continue building hospitals without it going beyond patient care and they add to their working conditions. And that we are able to build hospital buildings that stand the test of time, that are neither delayed nor scaled back, says Hussein. The Medical Association is also critical of the model as it is today. President of the Medical Association, Anne-Karin Rime. Photo: news – After the company reform, hospitals have been built too small, with fewer beds and rooms and lower capacity. The consequences are dysfunctional buildings that provide less, poorer and more expensive patient treatment and a deterioration of the working environment for employees. The model must change, says president of the Medical Association, Anne-Karin Rime. The hospital selection committee proposed changes all this spring In March this year, the hospital selection committee, which was appointed by the government, came up with a report in which they recommended changing the way hospital buildings are financed. They propose, among other things, to reduce the requirement for equity from 30 to 10 per cent. Lower interest and better coverage of capital costs. The proposal has been out for consultation. In its response, Helse Stavanger has written that they think the proposals are good, but that they do not go far enough. They ask that a larger part of the construction costs come as a grant and not as a loan. The Medical Association also believes that the Government must do more. – The requirement for equity capital should be removed. A reduction in the requirement from 30 to 10 per cent can help to ensure that investments in hospital buildings can get underway more quickly, and prevent the healthcare provider from having to save by shutting down operations. But it is important to specify that this will not give the hospitals greater financial leeway, as the loan burden will be higher, says Rime. The government promises that something will come The government’s answer will come during the winter. Karl Kristian Bekeng (Ap) is state secretary in the Ministry of Health and Care. Photo: Esten Borgos – We will follow up on the proposals from the hospital selection and it will be included in the national health and cooperation plan which will be presented shortly, says State Secretary in the Ministry of Health and Care, Karl Kristian Bekeng (Ap). – It is important to have a thorough explanation and a good round in the Storting on any changes, if we are going to make them. And that is why it is desirable to do it in a joint health and interaction plan, he adds. But the State Secretary cannot say anything about what concrete amendments will come before that. The finance director at the hospital in Stavanger is clear about what they need. – We must have a major change in the financing of major construction projects in order for us to be able to complete construction stage two at Ullandhaug, says Ersdal. Photo: Øystein Otterdal / news
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Nobody knows when the new hospital in Stavanger will be finished – news Rogaland – Local news, TV and radio
