Fjeldstad is on his way to the Storting in a taxi. In recent months, she has been involved in elderly care. And she is angry. – I believe that all older people have the right to a dignified and safe old age, she says. – Old people, we don’t have that today. People are afraid, people are afraid. She has decided to hold an appeal for the first time in her life. – Imagine that I had to be almost 84 years old before I dared to demonstrate, she laughs. They call themselves the Elderly Rebellion 2023 and want an end to what they believe to be gross violations of human rights. Among other things, they demand an investigation of Norwegian care for the elderly and that the Elderly Ombudsman must not be closed down as the government has decided. Both the elderly and politicians met in front of the Storting to demonstrate for better care for the elderly. Photo: Ellen Benedikte Kasnes / news Debate for months Stories of neglect can be found all over the country. Since January, hundreds of articles and opinion pieces have been written in Norwegian newspapers about elderly people who do not get enough help. This follows, among other things, the Brennpunkt documentary “Care behind closed doors” and news’s stories from health centers in Oslo. The debate has raged. But what has happened in practice? – So far, we have not seen any change. We still receive a similar number of cases, and we receive calls from worried people all over Norway, says Elderly Ombudsman Bente Lund Jacobsen. She answers the phone herself when news calls. Her communications advisor has quit, and soon the whole office will be packed up. Because from 1 July there is no longer an Elderly Ombud in Norway. After the winter’s debate, several opposition parties advocated that she should continue in the position. So it didn’t turn out that way. Lund Jacobsen believes that several of the debates about the future of Norwegian care for the elderly are about to boil over. – We have pointed this out, how reality is, so many times. Nevertheless, the politicians are shocked when they see it. I am very happy that Brennpunkt took this up, and very worried that the voices are now falling silent, she says. Care for the elderly in this year’s election campaign – Care for the elderly has a lot of attention in the municipal sector, both in election years and as usual. We believe that care for the elderly will be a very central topic in this autumn’s election, writes director for society, welfare and democracy in KS, Helge Eide in an e-mail. news has asked KS about concrete examples of what has happened in Norwegian municipalities in the wake of the winter’s debate. The answer is largely: The same as before. In addition to working towards the previous government’s elderly reform “Live your whole life”, the municipalities are now concerned with finding good solutions for a future with poorer access to personnel. – The Minister of Health and Care has been clear that good care for the elderly is largely the responsibility of each individual municipality. Do the municipalities have good conditions today to take this responsibility? – We believe that the main picture is good municipal care services, although there are also many examples of errors and shortcomings in the services, writes Eide and continues: – There is no doubt that increasing demand for services seen in the context of the prospect of an increasing shortage of qualified personnel challenges the municipalities’ ability to provide services in the future in the same way as today. Helge Eide is director of society, welfare and democracy in KS. Photo: Tom Balgaard/news Municipalities have taken action One of the municipalities that was highlighted in the documentary on elderly care is Larvik municipality. Here, news filmed with a hidden camera, in addition to an employee and relatives at Furuheim nursing home coming forward. Tone Margrethe Torgersen told about unworthy treatment of her now deceased mother. After the documentary, she has received countless calls from relatives, employees and others who want political change. – The debate has exploded among the population, she says, who fears that not enough has happened in the municipality to improve conditions. Tone Margrethe Torgersen with her mother Thorbjørg Ambjørnsen. The picture was taken before Thorbjørg died. Photo: Privat But according to the municipal manager for health and coping in Larvik municipality, Guro Winsvold, action has been taken. Shortly after the documentary aired, the nursing home requested that the State Administrator carry out an inspection at Furuheim nursing home. In addition, the municipality is working to raise the skills of its employees. – Several practical courses are planned this spring with a focus on consent and coercion. In addition, courses in trust-building measures are planned, and all healthcare workers must attend a documentation course, says Winsvold. It has also been important to strengthen the employees’ knowledge of dementia. That is why the municipality has, among other things, re-established a dementia network. Two departments at Furuheim nursing home also run a separate course in dementia and care. – It is important to emphasize that we always focus on the quality of the health services. This is how it was before Brennpunkt, and this is also how it is after Brennpunkt. Glimpse of hope Back at the demonstration, the commitment is great. – I think it is so good that we now have an elderly rebellion here in Norway, says Erlend Svardal Bøe, who is the representative of the Conservative Party in the health and care committee. The drum corps of the Norwegian Nurses’ Association. Photo: Ellen Benedikte Kasnes / news Health Minister Ingvild Kjerkol was not present during the demonstration, but the government refers to the Labor Party’s elderly policy spokesperson, Tove Elise Madland. – The commitment in the demonstration makes an impression. We are not at a disadvantage when it comes to care for the elderly, says Madland. – I will be the first to admit that things are not good enough. So I really hope that all the parties in the Storting can sit down together and look ahead and create good care for the elderly, because the elderly deserve that. But what actually happened? Neither news, KS nor the Elderly Ombudsman have a complete overview of what has been done in the country’s municipalities. But there are bright spots. – I received an inquiry from a municipality in Rogaland which has decided that it should cost NOK 100 for elderly people to take a taxi, regardless of where they are going. It is the start of something, says Lund Jacobsen. She also tells about a municipality in Møre og Romsdal where health professionals in upper secondary school started a cafe with home-made cakes for residents of a nursing home. In Oslo, she has visited a nursing home where the Red Cross provides bingo, coffee and cakes. But what she wants is something bigger: That several political parties will raise care for the elderly as a theme in the autumn municipal elections, and that the government gives the municipalities new earmarked funds for the care services. The Labor Party’s elderly policy spokesperson, Tove Elise Madland, says earmarking funds is not relevant because the municipalities’ right to self-determination is strong. – It is more important to strengthen the economy so that the municipality has the opportunity to create good care for the elderly, she says and continues: – Having said that, we are happy that the government received the investment subsidy in the budget agreement. The investment subsidy is extra money that the municipalities receive in addition to their own funds. She explains that the money is a supplement to the municipalities so that they can, for example, build new nursing homes. – But care for the elderly is a hugely important topic in the run-up to the election, this is an issue that goes straight to the heart of many of us, says Madland, who herself has 30 years’ experience in care for the elderly where she has worked in the municipal health service and as a health worker. Elderly reform The minister says in an interview that it has made an impression to hear stories about individuals who do not get the help they need. She says they already started work on a comprehensive elderly reform last year. – We will present the reform before the summer. In addition, we are changing GP funding so that they are better paid for patients who need them more. And then we must ensure that we train, recruit and retain the professionals we need for the future. They are working well there through various projects, says the minister.
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– People are afraid – news Documentary
