On average, one in five patients in Norwegian hospitals is readmitted shortly after being discharged. This has been the case for a long time. But now the Medical Association believes that the situation is worsening, and that it is about to affect patient safety, as doctors feel pressure to discharge patients as quickly as possible. They point to full emergency departments, more elderly people who need more extensive treatment, backlogs after the pandemic and financial pressure on the hospitals. Leader of the Young Doctors’ Association, Kristin Utne, believes the hospitals’ tolerance limit has been reached. Photo: Michaela Klouda / Young Doctors’ Association Kristin Utne heads the Young Doctors’ Association. – There is nothing more to go on. We have thoroughly streamlined and cut everything that needs to be cut, and we have almost no emergency preparedness in the hospitals, she says. She is accompanied by the head of the Association of Medical Practitioners, Ståle Clementsen. – The patients may be well enough to leave the hospital, but they have not been treated so well that it will last over time, so we run the risk that they will need new health care again quite quickly. In 2008, Ahus at Lørenskog was completed. This is one of the hospitals that two medical associations point to as particularly critical with regard to early discharges. Photo: Simon Skjelvik Brandseth / news Hospitals built to be hyper-efficient In recent years, Norwegian hospitals have been built to be as efficient as possible and to make maximum use of capacity. The length of stay for patients should be as short as possible, and more of the treatment should take place in the municipalities’ health services. At Kalnes in Østfold, the hospital was completed in 2015. It has both normal hospital functions and psychiatry under the same roof. But the hospital was too small from day one, and there are already plans for expansion. This is now at risk due to poor finances, the hospital writes on its website. The budget has burst by over 150 million in 2022 alone, and further savings must be made to achieve that, writes director Hege Gjessing at Sykehuset Østfold. – This is challenging with the hospital’s high occupancy, but it is absolutely necessary if we are to be able to achieve the goal of getting a bigger hospital, she says. – Need more beds Kalnes is one of the hospitals the medical associations are particularly concerned about, together with Ahus in Lørenskog, which is also a fairly new hospital. Ståle Clementsen of the Association of General Practitioners says this illustrates the problem in several Norwegian hospitals. Ståle Clementsen of the Norwegian Medical Association is concerned that patients cannot stay in hospital long enough for them to recover. Photo: Olav Juve / news – We have chosen to build a hospital where you believe you can reduce the length of stay, and that you can do that into heaven. You can’t do that. The patients who are in the hospitals now are so bad that the length of stay naturally has to increase, and then you need more beds, not fewer. A recent report from the Directorate of Health also states that reduced length of stay in hospital has a clear connection with patients having to be readmitted after a short time. The new Drammen hospital is being built for a slightly lower utilization than Ahus and Kalnes. Photo: Lise Åserud / NTB Kjerkol asks them to save more The medical association criticizes the government’s proposal for the state budget for next year. It is true that the framework increases by 2.4 billion, but this is eaten up by price and wage increases, they believe. – There is a budget cut for the hospitals, says Ståle Clementsen Health Minister Ingvild Kjerkol replies that the hospitals must prioritize even harder in a demanding time. Minister of Health Ingvild Kjerkol says that next year the hospitals must set their sights on nutrition and prioritize even harder. Photo: Marius A. Jenssen Stenberg / news – The cost increases we see throughout society now also affect the hospitals. This means a need for financial control, adjustment measures, that large investments are postponed, and that resources must be prioritized more harshly because we have expensive time and an unpredictable economy. KrF leader Olaug Bollestad reacts strongly to this. – The government has not adjusted the price and salary budgets for the hospitals. These are challenging times, but we have to lift the hospitals and look at the whole. We also have a GP crisis which contributes negatively, and we need to strengthen nursing homes in the municipalities, says Bollestad.
ttn-69
Think patients are being discharged too early – news Oslo and Viken – Local news, TV and radio
