On 6 June this year, the announcement came that the maternity ward in Kristiansund could reopen, after being closed for over a year. But the joy was short-lived, after being closed for the summer, Helse Møre og Romsdal reports that it will not be opened as planned. The reason is again, lack of personnel. The head of the hospital in Kristiansund and Molde does not see the future of the maternity ward. – Right now I have to be completely honest to say that I don’t see how we are going to manage to make it happen, says Georg Johnsen. He says that what affects him the most is how this situation is for those giving birth and those employed in Kristiansund. – That’s probably what I feel the most about. One is the women giving birth who have an uncertain situation when we open and close. The second is the employees that we recruit for an uncertainty. It’s the worst for me, the employees and those giving birth. But he will add that they have a safe supply of fodder in Nordmøre and Romsdal with stable fodder breeding in Molde. Not viable The Maternity Department in Kristiansund is the only one in the country that has a parliamentary decision to remain open. In addition, they have received NOK 25 million to get the department back on its feet. The editor of Dagens Medisin believes that this is another example of local politics trumping care to ensure a good professional offer. – I fully understand that you want a maternity service as close as possible, but the world is not such that it is sustainable in the Norwegian health service today, unfortunately, says Siri Gulliksen Tømmerbakke. She points out that, among other things, there is a shortage of midwives in the whole of Norway, also lack of medical specialists. – I think that if there is to be a maternity service, then there must be capacity to keep the maternity service open, and it must be based on professional conditions, not politics, she says. – It’s not money that controls it And it’s precisely professionals who are the problem, says Georg Johnsen. – We have tried very hard, spent a lot of time on this case for over a year, then we see how vulnerable it is. So being able to recruit professionals is very challenging and I don’t quite see right now how we are going to close. The head of the hospitals in Kristiansund and Molde says they have gone to extreme lengths to get the maternity ward in Kristiansund up and running again. Photo: Hans-Olav Landsverk / news Even with an extra 25 million in the pot, it is not enough to lure people to Kristiansund. Here, Johnsen points out that the employees want professionally interesting tasks, and a job that fits with family life. – Gynecologists and doctors today do not want to work on call every weekend or every third day. That is what is challenging, it is not the money that controls it, he says. In three years, Romsdal and Nordmøre will have a new joint hospital, which will be located at Hjelset. There will be a maternity ward for both regions.
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Postponed opening of the maternity ward in Kristiansund once again – news Møre og Romsdal – Local news, TV and radio
