– We believe this solution will ensure good hospital services for the population of the interior, says Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre. Together with Finance Minister Trygve Slagsvold Vedum and Health and Care Minister Ingvild Kjerkol, they held a press conference at Moelv on Monday morning. – Ensuring that the population has safe and good health care is one of the most important tasks for the government. Now I am happy that we can put an end to over 20 years of hospital debate in the interior, says Støre. FOLKEFEST: – Congratulations on the day, said Kjerkol to cheers from the audience. Photo: Aleksandr Nedbaev / news The Prime Minister believes that Mjøssjukehuset will become Europe’s leading hospital. – We will have the world’s best hospital in Norway. When a new hospital is built, it will be Europe’s leading hospital. Because that is the situation when Norway builds hospitals, says Støre. Mjøssjukehuset The government agrees to establish a new Mjøssjukehuset in Moelv in the interior. The hospital will have specialized functions within somatics, mental healthcare and interdisciplinary specialized drug treatment. In addition, there will be an all-round local hospital in Lillehammer, further development of the hospital in Tynset and a hospital in Elverum with more activity than follows from the board decision in Health South-East. At the hospital in Elverum, there will be more 24-hour and day surgery in orthopedics, planned surgery, a movement center with strengthened rehabilitation services and internal medicine emergency functions. The government also wants arrangements to be made for a maternity service with a maternity ward at Elverum hospital, and asks Health South-East to investigate this. The Ministry of Education will be asked to initiate work with the aim of establishing its own physiotherapy education in Elverum. – A real boost The new hospital structure in Innlandet means that the two largest cities in the county, Hamar and Gjøvik, will lose their hospitals. The Minister of Health and Care nevertheless believes that several specialist areas will get a boost with the new Mjøssjukehuset. PROMISE: Minister of Health and Care Ingvild Kjerkol was pleased to come up with a final decision in the long hospital debate in the interior. With a Mjøssjukehus, several specialist areas will get a real boost, she believes. Photo: Lars Erik Skrefsrud / news – Mjøssjukehuset will facilitate more advanced treatment at the same location, says Kjerkol. – For specialist areas such as cancer, neurology, children’s diseases, specialized surgery and specialized internal medicine, this will be a real boost, she says. Further develop important services After many years of discussion, a vote was taken in September 2022 on where the hospitals in the hinterland should be located in the future. The board of Helse Sør-Est then decided, with six out of ten votes, to go in favor of building the Mjøssjukehuset on Moelv. The board’s decision also stated that Lillehammer should have an emergency hospital and that there should be an elective hospital in Elverum. But the government wants to have more activity in Elverum than what follows from the board decision in Health South-East. IMPORTANT SERVICES: In addition to building a new Mjøssjukehus in Moelv, the government will further develop services in Lillehammer, Elverum and Tynset. Photo: Lars Erik Skrefsrud / news In Elverum, there will be more 24-hour and day surgery in orthopedics, planned surgery, a movement center with strengthened rehabilitation services and internal medicine emergency functions. The government also wants arrangements to be made for a maternity service with a maternity ward at Elverum hospital, and asks Helse Sør-East to investigate this. At Tynset, the government wants to further develop the hospital that is there today, while at Lillehammer they are in favor of a versatile local hospital. – I believe we have found a solution where we show that the government is listening, and at the same time ensures a good offer for the population, says Finance Minister Trygve Slagsvold Vedum. SATISFIED: Finance Minister Trygve Slagsvold Vedum believes the government’s decision ensures that people in the entire Inland region will be confident that they will receive good emergency help and good specialized treatment in the future. Photo: Lars Erik Skrefsrud / news Concerned about psychiatry The Center Party in Oppland is happy that the dispute over Mjøssjukehuset has been settled, but believes that another round should be taken of psychiatric services. – It has been important to get a clarification, says leader of Sp’s county council group Aud Hove to NTB. HAPPY: Leader of Sp’s county council group, Aud Hove, is happy that a decision has been reached by the government in the hospital dispute in the interior. Photo: Arne Sørenes / news She is happy that the government is choosing to strengthen hospital provision in both Lillehammer, Elverum and Tynset in addition to a large hospital in Moelv. Inland is a large county, she points out. – Now Health South-East and Sykehuset Innlandet must prioritize spending funds on building up Lillehammer and Elverum while waiting for the new hospital to come into place, says Hove. At the same time, she is worried about psychiatry, and believes the government should take an extra round of it. The decision from the government means that the psychiatric hospitals at Sanderud and Reinsvoll will be closed. – There are many of us who believe they should pass, says Hove. URGENT: It is urgent to ensure good and forward-looking health services for patients in the Inland, says Høyre’s health policy spokesperson, Tone Wilhelmsen Trøen. Photo: Martin Fønnebø / news Høre’s health policy spokesperson, Tone Wilhelmsen Trøen, is happy that a decision has been reached in the case about Mjøssjukehuset. She believes that it is urgent to ensure good and forward-looking health services for patients in the Inland region. – It is high time and very good that the government, by and large, continues the decision made by the Conservative Party in the government about the hospital structure in the interior, says Trøen. Great commitment Discussions about where to build new hospitals are a well-known topic in several places in the country. In Innlandet, there have been heated arguments, torchlight processions and Facebook discussions for a number of years. A community hospital in Innlandet is important for the 370,000 people who live there. Innlandet is also Norway’s largest cottage county, with over 85,000 holiday homes. This is how torchlight processions, action groups and discussions happen. Some of the Facebook groups have over 30,000 members. Such as the group “Continued hospital in Elverum” and “YES TO CONTINUED AMERGENCY HOSPITAL IN LILLEHAMMER”. Torchlight procession for the hospital in Lillehammer Torchlight procession for the hospital in Elverum. Facebook group with over 30,000 members. Facebook group with over 30,000 members. In fact, as far back as 2003/2004, people started talking about a joint hospital precisely in Moelv. In the last 17 years, a lot of time and resources have been spent on finding this out. According to Health South-East, there have been 17 different proposals on the table.
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Press conference on the future of Sykehuset Innlandet – news Innlandet – Local news, TV and radio
