– Investing in sexuality is extremely important for public health, to make people happier and to fight depression, says doctor and sexologist Esben Esther Pirelli Benestad. In 2015, penis pumps, vibrators and dildo sets became part of Nav’s offer to Norwegians with reduced sexual function. Since then, several thousand have applied to Nav for “sexual technical aids”. – Research shows that good sexuality leads to a longer life with less disease, says Pirelli Benestad. Sends out 4,000 sex aids a year Quintet in Bergen is the largest of the companies tasked with sending out aids for sexual life. This year, they expect that there will be around 4,000. – Problems in the sexual life are experienced by many as very invasive. We often hear from patients who say they have had a much better life. Positive feedback comes from both patients and healthcare personnel, says head of department at Quintet Aron Willems. Special vibrator for over ten thousand kroner, designed to help men with spinal cord injury achieve ejaculation. Source quintet.no. Nav has drawn up a framework agreement with Quintet. Through it, doctors all over the country can order sex aids, if illness or injury causes the patient to have reduced sexual function. On their website you can find aids in many shapes and colors. It’s a big span. Penis rings for a couple of hundreds of pounds. A special vibrator worth over ten thousand kroner is designed for men with spinal cord injuries. – The fact that such an arrangement exists gives recognition of how important the sexual function is. It also gives us as healthcare personnel a responsibility to tell patients that they can get help, says Willems. Aron Willems is subject manager and project manager at Quintet, and is a medical doctor at the University of Bergen. Photo: Sissel Rikheim / news Vacuum pump is most popular – In 2020, around 3,000 people were given sexual technical aids. That’s what Tormod Moland, who is head of section in the Directorate of Labor and Welfare, says. He says recipients must contact a doctor who can assess whether there is a need for a sexual technical aid. – In many cases, there are people who have undergone cancer treatment, women with vaginismus and people with neurological disease or injury, for example spinal cord injury, says Moland. According to NAV, it is erection-inducing vacuum pumps that are the aid that is awarded the most. To be entitled to a sexual technical aid, sexual function must be expected to be impaired for at least 2 years. Photo: Screen dump from quintet.no. These are the criteria for being awarded free sex aids. Your sexual function must be permanently and significantly impaired, for at least 2 years. You must have an assessment from a doctor who says that further medical treatment will not improve your ability to function. The aid must be assessed by a doctor as necessary and appropriate (source: NAV) The sexologists are jubilant At his office in Grimstad, Pirelli Benestad leans forward in his chair. – The right to sexual pleasure is becoming more and more accepted, both in Norway and internationally. I am very happy that this relatively new scheme exists and is being used, he says. Esben Esther Pirelli Benestad is, among other things, a doctor and sexologist. Photo: Ola Bjørlo Strande / news The doctor and the sexologist smile slyly and come up with a fairly innocent picture of the situation. – Striking someone is difficult if you have poor balance. But if you have a cane, ironing goes much better. Development in the framework agreement 2015-2020 From 2015 to 2020, allocations of sexual technical aids through the aids center have increased from NOK three million in 2015 to NOK ten million in 2020: 2015: NOK 3.0 million 2016: NOK 4.5 million 2017: NOK 5.1 million 2018 : 6.1 million 2019: 8.0 million 2020: 10.0 million
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The state distributes sex aids worth 10 million a year – news Sørlandet – Local news, TV and radio
