On Thursday, the chairman of the committee, Gunnar Bovim, hands over the report from the Health Personnel Commission to the Minister of Health and Care, Ingvild Kjerkol. – There is no way around that there will be fewer employees per patient. We cannot envisage a political initiative that can drown this out, says Bovim during the press conference. – It doesn’t help with a billion here and a billion there. There will be fewer employees per patient. We must take that realization with us at all levels. Minister of Health and Care, Ingvild Kjerkol and Minister of Research and Higher Education Ola Borten Moe receive the report from the Health Personnel Commission’s head Gunnar Bovim. Photo: Javad Parsa / NTB Fear less patient contact Guro Herfoss is a student at UiT, Norway’s Arctic University, and will soon finish his nursing studies. – I am very excited about going from being an assistant to actually being a nurse, and how big a transition it is, she says to news. The nursing student is positive about most of the proposals from the Health Personnel Commission, but fears an everyday life with less patient contact. She is afraid that the nurses will have less time with each individual patient if healthcare workers are given more tasks. – I’m afraid it will be the case that we only come in and do procedures, and are not allowed to see the patient. I don’t want it to be like that. That is not why I have chosen to become a nurse, says Herfoss. Will strengthen nursing homes The majority in the Health Personnel Commission will strengthen nursing homes in places where there are not enough people to have a regular hospital. – There will be fewer hospitals. There is not enough population base. Perhaps we should rather focus on, for example, strengthening nursing homes, says Bovim. The Health Personnel Commission presents its report. Here, Gunnar Bovim leads. Photo: Javad Parsa / NTB The commission believes that the answer is not more employees, but that work must be done more efficiently. He emphasizes that of all countries in the EU and EEA, Norway has the highest proportion of employees in the health and care sector. Norway already uses more resources than anyone else in the health sector. At the same time, the proportion of elderly people is increasing, while the proportion of people of working age is not increasing. In the last 20 years, there have been 40,000 more people over the age of 80 in Norway. From 2020 to 2040, there will be 250,000 more. – It is the municipalities that will feel the recruitment challenges the most. Much more than the hospitals, says committee leader Bovim. Measures at Sykehuset Østfold At Sykehuset Østfold, tasks that were previously only done by nurses can now be done by health professionals with training. – If we are to manage to solve the nursing shortage we have, we will have to share some of these tasks that the nurses do today, says head of department Fiona Skjennem to news. Health professional Mathilde Hensel Linna and nurse Martin Kriklum Bjerge. Photo: Knut Are Tornås / news – How can we as patients be sure that patient safety is taken care of? – The healthcare workers receive very good training in these tasks. They receive certification and theoretical instruction, and they have to do it in practice several times, says Skjennem. Need more full-time work Ever since December 2021, the commission has been working on assessing the need for health personnel and expertise up until 2040. – The Health Personnel Commission has given us a description of reality that we together must take seriously, says Minister of Health and Care Ingvild Kjerkol. She believes we need more skilled workers, more full-time work, and better interaction between the municipal health service and the hospitals. Research and Higher Education Minister Ola Borten Moe. Photo: Javad Parsa / NTB The commission has chosen to focus on seven main areas: division of tasks, organisation, working hours, sustainability, digitalisation, competence and priorities. – Going forward, it will be important to see how we can remove bottlenecks for educational capacity and lay a good foundation for the restructuring that both the health service and society must have, says Research and Higher Education Minister Ola Borten Moe. The Health Personnel Commission Consists of 16 members and is led by Gunnar Bovim. Was established in December 2021. Representatives from employees, employers, the specialist health service, the municipal health and care services and the education sector are involved in the work. Will reduce maltreatment The health personnel report proposes major changes to what the various professional groups within health must carry out. In the past, news has learned that the division of tasks is becoming a central theme: Specialists should not do tasks that others can do. – Today we spend between ten and 15 per cent of the hospital budget on correcting errors. A lot is about lying time, says Bovim. There is also a need for more automation in the healthcare system going forward. – We must automate everything we can. Mostly where the human contact does not add significant value, says Bovim. He states that Norway should not import itself from the problem. On Wednesday, news reported that director of health Bjørn Guldvog believes it is important to make it more attractive to work in the health care system, and he made no secret of the fact that salary plays a role.
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