– We cannot guarantee that the patients will receive the treatment they should have, says Iver Anders Gaski. He is the representative of the supervisors who work in the trauma department. The trauma center at Ullevål hospital is the largest in the country. The most seriously injured people come here after, among other things, traffic accidents, falls, shootings, stabbings and violence. The center at Ullevål hospital is responsible for the Eastern and Southern regions (Health South-East). Each year they receive and treat around 2,000 patients. Trauma is the most common cause of death in the age group 1–45 years. This summer, the tenant raised the alarm. Now the situation is getting worse. Demanding job Joakim Jørgensen is a senior physician at Ullevål hospital. He is a vascular surgeon, but has special training in trauma surgery. He works half of the time in the trauma department. As a trauma surgeon, he has overall responsibility for treating the most seriously injured patients. He goes through all X-rays of new patients and coordinates what kind of treatment they will receive. In addition, he has rear guard. When new patients come in, the alarm goes off. Then he is summoned. Jørgensen believes he has a very exciting job. But at the same time a job that demands a lot from him. – We are standing with perhaps some of the sickest patients that we see in Norway, who come here. Joakim Jørgensen is a senior physician in vascular surgery. He works 50 percent as a trauma surgeon. Photo: Hallgeir Braastad / news Jørgensen very happy at work. But now he is restless. – There are no new trauma surgeons on the way to replace those who are gone. It takes a long time to train people, so this is serious. Good results This scheme, of which Jørgensen is a part, was set up in 2013. It had then taken several years to build it up. It has yielded results. The mortality rate in seriously injured patients who are dependent on blood transfusions was almost halved after the scheme was put in place. Inside the trauma room there are three treatment areas. Photo: Hallgeir Braastad / news The trauma center at Ullevål has an important position. They are the leading trauma center in the country with a large regional and national responsibility. And they are noticed abroad. – Ullevål has a system that trauma centers in several other countries look to to learn from, quite simply, says Joakim Jørgensen. – About to break down But the trauma department has struggled for a long time to keep the trauma surgeons and recruit new ones. Among other things, the employees have worked extra to cover rearguards in the evenings, nights and weekends. Now the whole trauma surgeon arrangement is about to collapse. Actually, there should be ten of them. Today there are seven. From 1 February next year, there will be only five. The two superiors Joakim Jørgensen and Iver Anders Gaski are worried about the future of the trauma centre. Photo: Hallgeir Braastad / news No new ones are on their way in. Joakim Jørgensen believes the trauma department is about to be demolished. – This is in the process of weathering and breaking down. It is about a lack of arrangement of working conditions for supervisors who work in two departments at the same time. The trauma department has put forward several proposals to solve the problem. Iver Anders Gaski is trustee for the supervisors at the trauma department. He is a specialist in gastrosurgery and works 37 percent as a trauma surgeon. Photo: Hallgeir Braastad / news – We have asked the management for help to ensure that the necessary measures are carried out, says Iver Anders Gaski. Have not kept what they promised Allereie, three years ago it was pointed out that the trauma surgeon scheme at Oslo University Hospital was threatened. It happened in connection with professionals from all over the country visiting under the auspices of the National Center for Traumatology. They believed that the challenges had to be solved at the overall management level. When the visit was concluded, they received a promise from the hospital’s top management. When they visited again in May this year to check that the organization and patient treatment are in line with the National Trauma Plan, the problem was still not resolved. The other trauma centers thought it was time to fulfill the promise. – Several will die Per Oretorp in the Personal Injury Association is a user representative on the specialist council for traumatology at Oslo University Hospital. Per Oretorp is assistant general secretary of the Personal Injury Association and user representative on the specialist council for traumatology at OUS. Photo: Personskadeforbundet LTN He believes the situation after the New Year will be dramatic. – More will die, and patients who survive will not have the chance to get as well as patients get today. – Shares the concern news has sent a number of questions about the matter to managing director Bjørn Atle Bjørnbeth at Oslo University Hospital. We have not received an answer from him, but from the head of the emergency clinic, Øyvind Skraastad. Øyvind Skraastad is head of the emergency clinic at Oslo University Hospital. Photo: Bård Nafstad / news – We share the concern about the situation and acknowledge that we have not yet been able to find good enough solutions to this. According to Skraastad, targeted work is now taking place across several professional environments to secure the business in the short and long term. – Here we work under time pressure. Oslo University Hospital is the country’s leading emergency and emergency hospital, and we will deliver on our mission, says Skraastad. The Minister of Health must get involved Per Oretorp in the Personal Injury Association believes that the situation at the trauma department is an organizational and management problem that can be solved. But he has sent a report of concern to the Ministry of Health. – We expect the Minister of Health to actually get involved and contribute to us actually saving the trauma system that we have today. The trauma department at Ullevål also has responsibility for training support in the national and regional emergency response. This will also happen, Oretorp points out. Therefore, he has also sent a report of concern to the Ministry of Justice and Emergency Preparedness and the Ministry of Defense about the situation at the trauma department after the New Year. – Then we will be far less equipped in the event of a war or disaster, says Per Oretorp of the Personal Injury Association. Published 11.11.2024, at 06.41
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