According to director Sjur Lehmann in the Norwegian Health Inspectorate, the changes will not only apply to psychologists: It affects doctors, nurses, midwives, nursing assistants and a wide range of other professional groups. The changes will be introduced continuously and because of the cases in Nidaros and news, Lehmann states: – We are making these changes to help reduce the risk that what Nidaros and news have described could happen again. In total, there are over 16,000 authorizations for healthcare personnel in Norway in 2024. Punished and stripped of authorization The Norwegian psychologist in his 50s was separated following a criminal case from the summer of 2020. He still managed to get a new job as a psychologist at Nav. When it was discovered, he was investigated by the police again in 2023. Via his lawyer Marit Lomundal Sæther, he did not want to answer questions about the investigations. Then Nidaros and news revealed that the psychologist had got a new job in the USA in 2024. The manager of the clinic where he was employed did not know about the two criminal cases from Norway and that the psychologist had been deprived of authorization in Europe. Such information is not shared across the Atlantic today. Make changes – We relate to the agreements and systems that exist, says director Sjur Lehmann of the Norwegian Health Authority. He emphasizes the importance of systematic international cooperation in the field. When the psychologist’s authorization was revoked in March 2021, a notification about this was routinely sent out to 30 countries with which Norway cooperates. These are the EEA countries. Countries outside the EEA currently receive no notifications about healthcare personnel who are stripped of their authorization in Norway. Director Sjur Lehmann in the Norwegian Health Authority states that they are changing routines following Nidaros and news’s revelations in September. Photo: Morten Andersen / news – The case has shown that there are cases where we – for reasons of patient safety – should consider passing on information to other countries’ authorities outside of the established arrangements. We will therefore now establish a practice and guidelines to be followed in this type of case, says director Lehmann. According to the management at the clinic in the USA, the psychologist himself said nothing about the cases from Norway. When management confronted the psychologist about this, he resigned from his position on the day. Lawyer Marit Lomundal Sæther has represented the psychologist for several years. Photo: Oliver Ivanowitz / news The psychologist, via his lawyer Marit Lomundal Sæther, did not want to answer questions related to his job in the USA. More new routines According to the Norwegian Health Authority, there are several new things that will be included in notification assessments in the future, if healthcare personnel receive a reaction or are stripped of their authorization in Norway. One is the person’s connection to the country that is outside the notification area, either because the person has citizenship or education there. The National Health Inspectorate is based in Oslo. Photo: Morten Andersen / news In 2024, there will be around 600 active authorizations where the healthcare personnel have an education originating from a country outside the EEA. The Norwegian Health Authority will also assess the likelihood that the health personnel can or will continue their activities in the relevant country to which the person is connected. The last element included in the new routines is what the supervisory case concerns, and in particular what danger there will be for the patients. Does not answer questions When the American clinic where the psychologist was employed answered Nidaros and news in September, the management stated that there was nothing wrong with the man’s local authorization. For a number of years, the Norwegian psychologist has had valid authorization in several states in the USA. In the District of Columbia, where he worked, this was renewed at the end of 2023. DC Health is the agency that oversees psychologists in the US capital. Photo: Morten Andersen / news The health authorities, DC Health, have not responded to Nidaro’s and news’s questions about whether the psychologist stated that he had pleaded guilty in two police investigations and had been stripped of his authorization in Norway when he went through the renewal process. Requests for inspection of the authorization renewal have not yet been answered. The psychologist’s Norwegian lawyer Marit Lomundal Sæther has also not answered questions about this on behalf of the psychologist. Letter sent to the USA When the Norwegian Health Authority saw Nidaros and news’s revelations about the Norwegian psychologist’s new job with patients in the USA, the embassy in Oslo was notified in a letter. In the notice, which Nidaros and news have access to, it says: “We ask that the embassy inform the relevant American authorities that NN no longer has a valid Norwegian authorization as a psychologist.” The Norwegian Health Authority notified the American Embassy in Oslo about the psychologist. Photo: Tore Meek / NTB The Norwegian Health Authority states that they have not received any feedback from the embassy. Nidaros and news have not received an answer to questions put to the health authorities in the USA about the notification or from the American embassy in Oslo. Notifying embassies According to director Sjur Lehmann, direct notification of supervisory reactions to the applicable country’s embassy in Norway will be the supervisory authority’s notification method when the changes are introduced. – In supervisory cases where we are aware that those involved have connections to countries outside of existing international notification arrangements, we must assess concretely, based on the nature of the case, whether other countries’ authorities must be notified of reactions, says Lehmann. He states that this will not be confidential information, but that the authority must have a factual reason for other countries’ authorities to be informed beyond the current notification system. Published 10.11.2024, at 11.10
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