– I can’t sleep, because you are disturbed all the time, says Bengt Lindgren. The 56-year-old has severe kidney failure and was admitted with severe pain to Telemark Hospital on Friday. Space is tight when the corridors are filled with patients. Photo: BENGT LINDGREN There he has been lying in the corridor with other patients while busy employees rush past around the clock. The disease means that he cannot take too many painkillers. – Now we live in 2023, and I actually thought that things had gotten better over the years when it comes to patients in the corridor. It has gotten worse. It’s a mental strain, says Lindgren. news is not allowed to enter the department due to visiting restrictions related to the infection situation. During Tuesday, Lindgren was admitted to the hospital. Has taken offices and bathrooms into use At the country’s hospital, there are now over 200 patients placed in the corridor because there are not enough beds. This shows responses news has received from 14 of the country’s hospitals. This is what it looks like in the corridor where Bengt Lindgren lies. Photo: BENGT LINDGREN Several hospitals report a demanding situation with overcrowded wards, a large influx of patients and high levels of sickness absence among staff. The reason is many patients with respiratory infections and fractures after slippery roads. At Telemark Hospital, offices, bathrooms and examination rooms have been used for beds. But it’s not enough. Head of department Nina Ruud understands that it is uncomfortable and noisy to lie in the hallway. – We understand that the patients find it more uncomfortable and noisy to lie in the corridor, but the medical aspect must be taken care of, says head of department at Telemark Hospital, Nina Ruud. Photo: ROALD MARKER / news – We do not want corridor patients. When the situation is as it is now, and we are on green alert, that is the way we have to handle it, she says. Highest number in a long time On the night to Monday, a total of 65 patients spent the night in the corridor at Ahus Nordbyhagen and Kongsvinger. – This is the highest number of overnight stays in the corridor Ahus has had in a very long time, says the hospital’s deputy managing director Jørn A. Limi. St. Olav’s hospital in Trondheim is also experiencing a very challenging situation with full beds and many patients ready for discharge. The corridors cannot be used for patients due to the design of the building. At the same time, the number of patients with respiratory diseases is increasing. – There will be an accumulation of patients in the emergency department because they cannot be taken on to the inpatient units, says communications director Marit Kvikne. – Strained situation The county doctor in Vestfold and Telemark had a meeting with the hospitals and municipalities about the situation on Monday. – We are not worried, but there are grounds for following up further, says county doctor Sigmund Skei. He believes the hospitals currently have the situation under control. – It is a strained situation with many sick people at the same time, which means that the system is being strained, but they have raised the level of preparedness and put other bed stations into use, says Skei. Great pressure on employees The situation is also demanding for employees, says specialist nurse at Telemark Hospital, Jeanett Gulbrandsen. – We are in difficult situations. It is stressful for both us and the patients, says Gulbrandsen. – We find it demanding. We are in difficult situations, says specialist nurse Jeanett Gulbrandsen at Telemark Hospital about the situation with corridor patients. Photo: ROALD MARKER / news The union representatives have discussed the need for more beds in the medical department with the management at the hospital regularly. Still, nothing has happened. – This happens every winter. The hospital is trying to prepare for it, but when the economy is as tight as it is now, there are very few options. It is a political choice whether to put such great pressure on hospital finances, says shop steward for the doctors at Telemark Hospital, Thor Severinsen. – It is very burdensome and a very big pressure, says company union representative for the doctors at Telemark Hospital, Thor Severinsen. Photo: Solfrid Leirgul Øverbø / news Hospital director Tom Helge Rønning points out that they have increased the bed capacity by eight beds in the medical clinic since the New Year. – We are now experiencing that the most demanding challenge is to obtain qualified personnel to take care of the increased number of patients, he says. Unusual number of admissions Minister of Health and Care Ingvild Kjerkol (Ap) believes that it is not unusual for admissions to increase during the winter season, and that the hospitals are prepared for it. This winter there has been an unusually high number of admissions, at the same time as sickness absence among employees has increased, she points out. – It is a demanding situation, says Kjerkol. – I know that professionals and managers in the hospitals make a formidable effort under difficult conditions, says Health and Care Minister Ingvild Kjerkol. Photo: Even Bjøringsøy Johnsen / news She points out that increased preparedness at several hospitals is being done to strengthen management and coordinate patient flow. – Do we have to accept that at times there are too few beds at the hospitals due to a lot of illness in the winter? – Corridor patients can have many reasons, including that the municipalities are unable to accept enough patients ready for discharge, says Kjerkol.
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The hospitals are filling up with corridor patients – news Vestfold and Telemark – Local news, TV and radio
