The matter in summary Helse Nord is considering discontinuing emergency surgery in Lofoten and Narvik, which will affect women giving birth in Lofoten. Midwives in Lofoten are threatening to quit if this happens, as they believe it will compromise patient safety. The hospital in Lofoten has neither a base for an air ambulance nor a helicopter route, which can delay the transport of patients in critical situations. The leaked document from Helse Nord indicates that they are considering letting the hospital in Narvik retain internal medicine treatment. Helse Nord emphasizes that it is currently only a discussion draft. The Midwives Association believes that the local hospitals should rather be strengthened to relieve the pressure on the hospitals in Tromsø and Bodø. Midwife Ida Nyström puts a blanket and a couple of decorative pillows on the bed. It is important that it is warm and pleasant for those who will give birth at Christmas. But it is not certain that she will do this for a very long time to come. On Thursday, news leaked a draft which states that Helse Nord will discontinue emergency surgery in Lofoten and Narvik. This means that women giving birth in Lofoten may have to travel far to give birth. It can be critical. Especially if there are complications. Nystöm and the other nurses in Lofoten will not participate in that. That is why they stop, if Helse Nord goes ahead with the plans. – Can bleed to death – This means that we are standing here on an island and a woman can, in the worst case, bleed to death, or the baby will not survive due to lack of oxygen, says the midwife. If a woman giving birth in Lofoten needs an emergency caesarean section, the midwives will not be able to perform it, if Helse Nord discontinues emergency surgery in Lofoten. Nurse Ida Nyström says it is important that it is pleasant around the women in labor who come to Gravdal hospital in Lofoten. Photo: Vilde Bratland Erikstad / news – It would be absolutely horrible. If we stand with the expertise, without the opportunity to get the people we need here, it would not have felt safe at all, says Nyström. – Will you work here if the caesarean section is taken away? – There is very little likelihood of that, she says and adds: – I want to work in a patient-safe manner for both mother and child, and I feel that there is no patient safety if we do not have that access. Midwives Ida Nyström and Mille Olsen at Gravdal Hospital in Lofoten do not think they will work at the hospital if it loses emergency functions. Photo: Vilde Bratland Erikstad / news Nor does Nyström’s colleague, Mille Olsen, think many of their colleagues will work at the hospital if they do not have access to a gynecologist in crisis situations. – It goes beyond patient safety, and it is close to our hearts. Hanne Charlotte Schjelderup, leader of the midwives association, says Gravdal Hospital is well run and was built only two decades after the National Hospital. Today, the hospital has a strong delivery service with dedicated, skilled midwives. – Will it be too dangerous to work here? – Yes, it will be dangerous to work here, dangerous to give birth here. We cannot exercise the patient safety that the law states that we must. Has neither an air ambulance nor a helicopter. This document will now be discussed with the union representatives. Reidun Karlsen is both a midwife and representative for the Midwives’ Association in Lofoten. She says that the proposal that is now on the table will mean that they will not be able to act quickly enough to save lives. Photo: Simon Skjelvik Brandseth The reason is that the hospital has neither an air ambulance base nor a helicopter route. – If we have to transport someone, it can take a long time. It can take over two hours. As long as there is no air ambulance or helicopter base in Lofoten, Karlsen also believes it will be challenging to recruit midwives to the hospital. – Many midwives do not want to work here based on a different model than we have today. We operate the model we have today safely and well. Midwifery students practice childbirth here. Reidun Karlsen, shop steward for the Midwives Association in Lofoten, believes it will be more difficult to recruit midwives to Lofoten if Helse Nord goes ahead with the preliminary proposal. Photo: Cathrine Oftedahl – There should be no doubt The document that was leaked from Health Nord on Thursday says that they will discontinue the emergency services in Lofoten and Narvik “under doubt”. Robert Hammer, head of the medical department at Gravdal Hospital in Lofoten, does not think that is good enough. – I think that when such big decisions are to be made, there can be no room for doubt at all, says Robert Hammer, head of department at Gravdal Hospital in Lofoten. Photo: Vilde Bratland Erikstad Among other things, the Minister of Health and Trygve Slagsvold Vedum have been to the hospital to hear the employees’ perspective on the matter. The superintendent believes that this may be the reason for the wording in the document. – When they get all the reactions from the people and professionals, it’s no wonder they start to have doubts. – Is it positive that management expresses doubts? – In a way, it’s positive, because it means they haven’t quite made up their minds. And there is still hope that we can keep our offer. The superintendent also believes that the torch trains that have been held both in Lofoten and in Vesterålen have had an impact on Helse Nord. Photo: Vilde Bratland Erikstad / news The leaked document also states that Helse Nord is considering allowing the hospital in Narvik to retain internal medicine treatment. The superior thinks it may be a partial victory. – We are starting to gain ground. Now we just have to win the rest of the war too. Helse Nord: – Just a discussion draft Communications director at Helse Nord, Skjalg Fjellheim, is clear that so far there is only talk of a discussion draft. – It is precisely a document that has been put forward so that the employees and users can give their answers and their opinion before the managing director presents a case to the board, he says. Health and Care Minister Ingvild Kjerkol visited the hospital in Gravdal in Lofoten ten Lofoten, Gravdal Photo: Vilde Bratland Erikstad Health and Care Minister Ingvild Kjerkol (Ap) tells news he will not comment on the document leak until a later date. – Now Helse Nord will give me a recommendation first in the new year. It is not right for me to comment on a leak on this work, says Minister of Health and Care Ingvild Kjerkol (Ap) to news. Kjerkol emphasizes that there has been a lot of discussion about the work of the working groups. Here from when she visited the hospital in Gravdal in Lofoten earlier this winter. Photo: Vilde Bratland Erikstad / news – Health Nord must do a thorough job of risk assessment and quality assurance of the recommendations they eventually send to the ministry. We must have good emergency preparedness in Northern Norway, this is also stated in the Hurdalsplattformen. The Midwives’ Association: – Should strengthen rather than weaken Hanne Charlotte Schjelderup, head of the Midwives’ Association, believes that the local hospitals should rather be strengthened to relieve the pressure on the hospitals in Tromsø and Bodø, which lack professionals. – If you close the emergency services in Narvik and Gravdal, it is very serious for the residents who are affected by a serious illness where minutes count, says Hanne Charlotte Schjelderup, head of the Midwives Association. Photo: Odd Skjerdal Schjelderup recalls that this summer it was reported that there was too much pressure on maternity wards in Tromsø when maternity services in the region closed periodically to cut costs. – We must have a shorter distance from the patient to the local hospital with emergency function and maternity ward if we are to have the same health services as in the rest of the country, she says. The leader of the Midwives’ Association. believes it is no coincidence that the local hospitals are where they are here, after over 100 years of experience. – We need all the local hospitals with their broad expertise so that the central hospitals can concentrate on their specialist tasks.
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Rage over Helse nord leak – midwives in Lofoten say they are quitting – news Nordland
