– You feel that it goes beyond professionalism and it is an inappropriate feeling, says Magne Bøe (60). He is one of many senior doctors who have left Sørlandet Hospital recently. After 27 years in the neurological department, he said thank you in August. For the 60-year-old, it was the ever-increasing work pressure that finally made him resign. – I felt a growing uneasiness because the stress load at work became very high, says Bøe, who today works with adults with developmental disabilities and autism. Sørlandet Hospital is now short of 80 senior doctors out of around 500 at the hospitals in Kristiansand, Arendal and Flekkefjord. In the last week alone, several people have resigned and followed in Bøe’s footsteps. – Heading into a hospital crisis This worries Cecilie Lunden Gundersen, who is the union representative for the senior doctors at Sørlandet Hospital. – We have long talked about a GP crisis, but now we are also fully on our way into a hospital crisis, says Gundersen. Recently, she has witnessed what she believes is a disturbing trend: – For the first time, we see that more and more senior doctors are resigning their positions to do other things. It is very worrying. Corporate union representative for senior doctors at Sørlandet Hospital Cecilie Lunden Gundersen believes it is time to talk about increased pay for hospital doctors. Photo: Heidi Ditlefsen / news Gundersen keeps hearing about new colleagues who are considering finding something else. – When you don’t have time to keep up to date and don’t get enough time to give as good treatment as you want, it’s no longer fun. She fears that Norway is now on its way to a two-part healthcare system, as is seen in Britain, among other places. – The National Health Service is about to unravel. There are huge queues, the staff are desperate and the emergency departments are flooded. I really hope we don’t get there in Norway. – But you feel that we are on our way there? – I’m afraid of that, yes. Sørlandet Hospital is now taking measures to recruit more senior doctors and retain the ones they have. Photo: Kjetil Samuelsen / news Four redundancies this week – In the last week alone, we have had four redundancies. We have many units with recruitment challenges, says organizational director Nina Føreland. Like Gundersen, she is worried that they are losing so many senior doctors. – What do the superiors state as the reason why they choose to resign? – When we carry out final surveys, we see that salary is a factor, but not among the top three. For many, it is about opportunities for professional updating and development. The hospital is now working purposefully to recruit doctors and retain the senior doctors they have. Føreland says they have set up working groups this autumn to work on this. – Among other things, we have established a working group with the Medical Association to see what measures we need to implement to ensure that we retain senior doctors at the hospital. Organizational director Nina Føreland at Sørlandet Hospital is worried that they will not be able to recruit enough senior doctors in the future. Photo: Heidi Ditlefsen / news Increased salary for hospital doctors Trade union representative Gundersen believes that hospitals must improve the working conditions for doctors in order to appear as an attractive place to work. Among other things, she points to increased salaries for hospital doctors. – The municipalities and the private operators pay significantly better. They now appear as more attractive workplaces. She also points to increasing work pressure in hospitals, as senior doctor Magne Bøe experienced. Bøe had envisioned staying in the position until he retired, but that gradually became an untenable thought. – It’s not that we don’t understand that it’s busy or that we’re lazy, but at one point or another you have to take responsibility for how working life will ultimately turn out, he says. Hello! Thank you for reading this far:) Did you think of anything in particular when you read this case or have any tips for something else I should write about? Feel free to send me an email!
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Sørlandet hospital lacks 80 senior doctors – take measures – news Sørlandet – Local news, TV and radio
