– Here it is fully staffed with GPs, says municipal manager Siv Iren Stormo Andersen. She smiles as she shows news around the doctor’s office Bryggen medical center in Kristiansund. Municipal manager for health and care in Kristiansund, Siv Iren Stormo Andersen, is satisfied that the municipality has resolved the GP crisis in the municipality. Photo: Eirik Haukenes / news Two years ago she didn’t smile. In February 2022, everyone was wondering who was going to take care of sick Christians. They lacked GPs. – If we don’t get doctors recruited now, we will have 7 out of 29 homes vacant this summer, said the municipal manager then. Lower threshold for newly qualified doctors But in two years the situation has been turned upside down. The municipality solved the GP crisis and went from empty offices to full coverage. The municipality took over the operation of the Bryggen medical center so that the doctors could concentrate on patient care. In addition, they bought up all vacant GP homes in the municipality. It was important, believes representative for the GPs in Kristiansund, Eigil Sandvik. Eigil Sandvik is a shop steward for the GPs in Kristiansund. Photo: Eirik Haukenes / news – Before, people have had to pay up to NOK 1 million to buy into a GP home to try out a job that you initially don’t know if you will enjoy in the long term. The approach to the municipality makes it easier, believes Sandvik. – Then there will be a much lower threshold for newly trained doctors to get into the scheme, and try themselves, without major financial obligations, he says. Let the GPs be two on duty at the emergency room In addition, they opened a new emergency room in Kristiansund where they let the GPs be on duty two by two, instead of being alone. – They have more frequent guards, but give feedback that it is better to have more frequent guards and to be two together on duty, says municipal manager Stormo Andersen. All in all, the measures have led to all the municipality’s GP offices being immediately fully staffed without having to use substitutes. The need for GPs is still great According to figures from the Directorate of Health for the fourth quarter of 2023, 214,095 residents in Norway were without a GP. Head of the General Practitioners’ Association, Nils Kristian Klev, thinks it is gratifying to see that Kristiansund has gone from a total drought on the recruitment side to being able to fill up the doctors’ offices. He sees signs of improvement in the GP situation across the country, but the need is still great. – With more people from Ukraine needing GPs, we see that we need even more GPs to reach our goal. Nils Kristian Klev is head of the Association of General Practitioners in Norway. Photo: Arne Sørenes / news He thinks it’s nice that the municipality has reduced the entry cost of becoming a GP, and that the doctors in Kristiansund feel safer when they work in the emergency room. He is nevertheless afraid that if the State does not provide more funds to the municipalities, and the municipalities themselves have to come up with extra funds to make themselves attractive, there will be competition between the municipalities. – It is unfortunate if it is the case that doctors from the neighboring municipality are drawn into their own municipality, rather than getting new doctors into the scheme. In Kristiansund, the advice to other municipalities is clear anyway. – Sit down together with the medical association. Agree on an understanding of reality, says municipal manager Siv Iren Stormo Andersen.
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The municipality resolved the GP crisis within two years
