Intoxication dominated the life of Halvor Jamtveit for many years. He told about it in the news series «Rus». He chose to get help at Mestringshusene on Bolkesjø in Telemark. – I would have been dead if I had not received help, the 31-year-old says today. A couple of weeks before he was admitted on April 1, 2020, his mother found him lifeless on the kitchen floor. It was just a coincidence that it went well at the time. He intoxicated himself until he stood on the steps of the Mastery Houses. – There I got my life back, says Jamtveit. He was there for half a year. The stay at Mestringshusene costs NOK 4,800 a day. The Norwegian Directorate of Health determines this price. General manager Eivind H. Kjerstad sent bills totaling NOK 55 million to public hospitals last year. – Not many patients, but long stays Many of the bills ended up on the table of the director at Telemark Hospital. This year, hospital director Tom Helge Rønning expects to pay NOK 60 million to private institutions. Most of it concerns treatment in intoxication and psychiatry. In Telemark, new, private institutions have arrived in a few years. – They do not treat very many patients, but the patients have very long stays, according to the director. Hospital director Tom Helge Rønning criticizes the current system of free choice of treatment. Photo: Ole Oskar Eriksen / news Rønning sees that the expenses increase year by year after the Solberg government introduced free choice of treatment in 2015. Already in 2017, the hospital paid around 17 million. Last year, the cost of free choice of treatment was almost 48 million. – It has simply been a dramatic development, he says. From 1 January 2023, there will be a change in that. Briefly about free choice of treatment Free choice of treatment means that patients can choose the place of treatment in the specialist health service. Patients who have been granted the right to assessment or treatment can choose between public treatment centers, private individuals with an agreement and private individuals approved by Helfo. Source: The Norwegian Directorate of Health More control of quality Minister of Health and Care Services Ingvild Kjerkol says she has been skeptical of this scheme since 2015. Now the Støre government and a majority in the Storting will change this. – We ensure the quality of the treatment of the institutions, says Kjerkol. The Minister believes that they lack this opportunity today. – It can mean the hook on the door for some, she says. Nevertheless, she promises that it will still be possible for private institutions to make agreements with the regional health authorities. Minister of Health and Care Services Ingvild Kjerkol in a meeting with local politicians and the management at Telemark Hospital. Photo: Britt Boyesen / news – What should they do with the patients? General manager Eivind H. Kjerstad at Mestringshusene on Bolkesjø does not understand why the government is in a hurry to change the current scheme. They have just received a new 5-year contract with Helfo. – What should they do with 753 patients who received drug treatment in Norway after free choice of treatment last year? he wonders. Kjerstad calls for a concrete plan for how this will take place. He does not think the health trusts can manage to handle a new scheme from day one. – This will only burden the municipal health service when there is no treatment plan, Kjerstad believes. General manager Eivind H. Kjerstad in Mestringshusene is concerned about the offer patients will receive after 1 January 2023. Photo: Private He emphasizes that no two patients are equal. Therefore, there is a need for a diversity in the treatment offer. The coping homes often accept patients who have a combination of intoxication and mental health problems. – They need a long-term plan and a strong interdisciplinary environment. There are a lot of post-traumatic disorders among the patients, says Kjerstad. The Ministry of Health and Care Services states that approximately NOK 1.8 billion has been paid out for free choice of treatment from November 2015 until 1 May 2022. Last year, NOK 500 million was paid out to private institutions. – Risking more overdose deaths Conservative MP Mahmoud Farahmand is critical of the change the current government is making. He believes that the current scheme has had a good effect and that it has helped many people. – The decision of the current government will affect the weakest who need help, says Farahmand. Storting representative Mahmoud Farahmand (H) is afraid of the consequences when free choice of treatment disappears. Photo: Helge Mikalsen / VG He believes there is good control of the current scheme, but also says that they can be better. – The most important thing is that it is a well-functioning offer that private institutions have offered so far, and in that way help as many people as possible out of drug addiction. He knows several who have gotten rid of the drug problems and gotten to work. – What I fear now is that many who need this scheme will fall on the outside. In the worst case, we risk more overdose deaths and more who will suffer over time, says Farahmand. – Scare images State Secretary Karl Kristian Bekeng thinks Mahmoud Farahmand is completely wrong. – Farahmand comes with scare pictures, he says. State Secretary Karl Kristian Bekeng (Labor Party) says the health trusts will ensure agreements with private institutions after 1 January 2023. Photo: Esten Borgos Bekeng refers to FHI’s overview from 2020. At that time, there were 324 overdose deaths in Norway. There have not been so many deaths since 2001. – What we propose to remove is the possibility that anyone can establish a treatment offer that draws resources from the local hospitals, says Bekeng. After the New Year, the health trusts will make agreements directly with relevant institutions. Can treat the patients themselves Hospital director Tom Helge Rønning believes that the patients will also receive a good offer after 1 January 2023. Many of the 60 million that Telemark Hospital has to pay to private institutions this year can go to their own patients. He believes the hospital can treat more people with substance abuse and psychiatric problems itself. The District Psychiatric Centers (DPS) also offer services to these patients. Director of Communications Geir Jørgen Bekkevold at Telemark Hospital states that the daily price there is NOK 3,745. Hospital director Tom Helge Rønning says that they have also for many years had good experience with the Blue Cross Borgestad Clinic in Skien. – We will still need private health services, says the hospital director. Get rid of intoxication Halvor Jamtveit does not want to comment on the government’s changes. Now he lives a drug-free life. – It was very hard in the beginning. Very heavy. The suction in the body was one thing. There were also many thoughts and feelings he had to sort out along the way. – I am in a completely different place in life than I can remember ever being, the 31-year-old sums up life today. When the party does not end, the intoxication can take control. But when you are at the bottom, there is a way up. Leo meets a guy who lost everything but hope.
ttn-69
Pays millions for drug treatment in private institutions – news Vestfold and Telemark – Local news, TV and radio
