It often begins in the delivery room. The first scream. The first splash. The first food. What is so small is at the same time so infinitely large. At the maternity ward in Kristiansund, it is only closed. Empty. No life. The endlessly debated, short-lived revived maternity ward did not allow itself to remain open after the summer holidays. There are not enough qualified professionals, however. There has not been a lack of political will. Money has been allocated directly. There has been mobilization and hope. Hard work. Nevertheless: The professionals needed do not apply to Kristiansund. The department management has gone on a date. In the face of the real world out there, even the Storting’s powerful majority falls short. And this is just a warning. Just the beginning The small, closed maternity ward in Kristiansund is also bigger than itself. The welfare state’s challenges in the coming years will be about this cross-pressure. Money, political will and ambitions are not enough. The design and organization of the welfare services is also about people and settlement. District politics and professional soundness cannot go hand in hand if there is ever so much money in the state budget and a majority in the parliament. This will push forward in several professional areas, in several places in the country. Less financial room for action for the public sector, population development, specialisation, more pensioners per In the end, employment is pure mathematics and in Kristiansund, two lines have now been put under the answer: There are not enough people at work. The maternity clinic must remain closed. The plaster on the wound The hospital dispute, if the singular is correct, in the north-west has had everything. Of politics, struggle, hatred, mobilisation, decisions, rematches, lawsuits, bunads and lack of trust. The only thing missing is calmness and the finish line. In 2014, it was decided that the new regional hospital for Nordmøre and Romsdal should be located outside Molde. The hospitals in Molde and Kristiansund will continue to operate until 2025. In 2018, the health authority concluded that the maternity services in the two cities had to be brought together in one place during the following year. Recruitment shortages are highlighted even then. The Storting then clearly stated that the government must ensure operation until the community hospital is completed. In 2020, the Storting will consider the question again. The Center Party’s Kjersti Toppe said at the time that: – We propose the same as in 2017 and in 2019, that the maternity ward in Kristiansund not be closed down. Now we only need Aps’ votes to ensure that none of today’s maternity services are closed. The Bunads guerrilla was in place when Minister of Health Ingvild Kjerkol visited Kristiansund hospital. Photo: Marius André Jenssen Stenberg / news At the beginning of February 2021, the maternity ward must close. Sp and Ap criticize the then Minister of Health Høie. After last year’s election victory, the red-greens get a broad majority to allocate NOK 25 million to reopen the maternity ward, regardless of how the operation is professionally organized. It is decided politically that this should be achieved. The money is locked for this purpose. On 6 June this year, there are finally some people dressed in white at work on the third floor of the pink brick building in the center of Kristiansund. 483 days without a maternity ward are over. There is a folk festival in the streets the next day. Three weeks of operation. 6 births. On 26 July comes the shocking news: A sick leave and a pregnancy means that there is a staff shortage again. There will still not be an opening after the holidays. Lundteigen: – There is no such thing as not getting hold of people. When August is 10 days old, the only thing that happens is that three managers resign. They just want to say that a continued race to staff the maternity ward comes at the expense of too much else. Any advice to just give up? A cry for help? Of course, one does not rule out the other: the situation is now critical. Come to hear, but what shall she do? – This is like our maternity suite! Health Minister Ingvild Kjerkol went to Kristiansund on Thursday. She was shown around by midwife Johanne Gryt in the newly painted room with bathtub, nursing bed and pilates ball. She was told that all equipment was in place. It was freshened up to June. Kjerkol gets to hold a newborn doll. Kristiansunderne clings to hope. Health Minister Ingvild Kjerkol visited the maternity ward in Kristiansund on Thursday. Photo: Marius André Jenssen Stenberg / news The management is asking for quiet work. They believe that project reopening has been tried and has taken enough time, cost enough effort. They want to move on to the large hospital in 2025. The Minister of Health is also bound by the parliamentary decision. It will cost her and not least Sp, if the government goes with its tail between its legs to the Storting to say that this cannot be implemented. If Kjerkol is to follow the advice to stop the process, she must prove that everything that can be done has been done. The demonstrators are convinced that more can be done. Has all the 25 million been used up? That not all stones are turned over. More temporary use. Order. Increased salary. All these measures have significant downsides and major healthcare dilemmas that the Minister of Health must also take into account. Too much temporary use results in unstable service and a poorer professional environment. Ordering or wage galloping will only move something that is in short supply from one place to another. Professional circles believe there is a shortage of gynecologists both nationally and internationally. Kjerkol promises a quick clarification. She does not order further recruitment process. Then it will be an internal government process. It could be the death of the child in Kristiansund. The Minister of Health promised a quick clarification on the maternity services in Kristiansund Photo: Marius André Jenssen Stenberg / news Vedum’s Hurdal victory The Center Party was bigger than Ap in Kristiansund in the general election last year. For Sp too, the issue is bigger than himself. This is a good example for the party that fights for services close to the people. It has been easy to interpret the party’s criticism of the Solberg government as “this just needs to be fixed”. Now it turns out that it’s not just about money and will. The Kristiansund case is the clear health victory for Sp in the government declaration. The Center Party is also fighting for a maternity service in Kristiansund after the main hospital at Hjelset is completed. The Minister of Health seems to downplay this. The Hurdalsplattformen also states that the offer in Kristiansund must not reduce the quality in the rest of the region. That a medical assessment must show what is best. In January 2020, Sp presented a proposal in the Storting that no maternity services should be closed. This autumn Sp sits with government power and around 6 percent support. There is a lot to balance for Sp during the day. This is primarily a balancing act between professional assessments, political wishes and hard realities. Of which there will be more in the future.
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This is just the beginning – Expression
