The case in summary: Karoline Jæger-Johnsen, who is pregnant and has pre-eclampsia, had to travel to Bodø for treatment. Due to a full patient hotel, she was placed in a normal hotel, but only received NOK 500 in financial help from the hospital to cover the hotel costs. This greatly affects her personal finances, as the room costs almost NOK 1,400 per night. The communications department at Nordlandssykehuset confirms that she is entitled to full coverage and apologizes for the misunderstanding. Karoline finds it questionable that she had to use the media to get what she is entitled to. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAi. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. Karoline Jæger-Johnsen is extra excited for Christmas this year. Due on 16 December, she can soon say “hello” to a little one for the first time. Early this week, however, she was diagnosed with preeclampsia. She had to pack her bag and travel several hundred kilometers away from her home on Bø, to Bodø. – I am very happy to be properly cared for by the doctors, she says to news. But in Bodø, the patient hotel was packed. Karoline, who still has three weeks left until her due date, was sent to one of the city’s hotels. Karoline was told that a hotel room had been arranged for her at Comfort Hotell in the center of Bodø. Photo: Sondre Skjelvik / news What could the hospital offer in terms of financial help? NOK 500. How much does the room cost per night? Almost NOK 1400. – There won’t be much Christmas presents this year, says Karoline to news. But when news makes contact with the hospital, the rules seem to be something completely different from what the heavily pregnant woman has been told about. EXPENSIVE: Karoline says she can’t complain about the view from the hotel room, but says NOK 900 a night is a lot of money if she has to wait until 16 December. Photo: Sondre Skjelvik / news Goes well beyond private finances Karoline initially lives in Bø in Vesterålen. The village that is perhaps best known as Norway’s “tax paradise”. She and her partner have normal jobs and normal incomes, she says. Potentially staying in a hotel for three weeks will therefore be a big expense for the small family. – This affects our private finances to a large extent. We have just bought a house and changed the roof, says Karoline before adding: – There won’t be many expensive Christmas presents this year, so to speak. Bø in Vesterålen is six hours away from Bodø by car. Photo: Jan-Helge Andersen The heavily pregnant 23-year-old says that it was always planned that she would give birth in Bodø for health reasons. – The doctors at the hospital in Stokmarknes selected me to Bodø as a starting point. Due to pre-eclampsia, I had to leave much earlier than originally thought. And the fact that Karoline has been selected for Bodø, over 300 kilometers from where she normally lives, should basically mean that her stay will be covered. MANY HOURS: Karoline has a lot of time for crocheting while she is waiting for the birth. Photo: Sondre Skjelvik / news Claiming coverage Karoline says that she contacted the hospital the day after check-in to double check that there is nothing that can be done. She had that denied. NOK 500 was all the hospital could offer. news has seen the written guarantee Karoline received from Nordlandssykehuset. Afterwards, she shared a longer post on Facebook about the situation. The reactions were not long in coming. – Many people wrote to me that they have been in the same situation. This will be expensive for us, but we will manage it. I feel very sorry for those who are less well off than us. Photo: Sondre Skjelvik / news Is it really how it should be if you live in the district? Trond Solem, section manager for patient travel at Nordlandssykehuset, explains the rules to news. – This patient, who has been selected to give birth in Bodø, will receive full coverage. But Karoline says she has asked several times – where could the fault lie? Follow-up question to Nordlandssykehuset: Why does Karoline get completely different information? Karoline says she has raised the issue with the department twice – who says this is the only thing she can get. Does the fault lie with the department, or does Karoline fall into some loophole? If the fault lies with the department – what is Nordlandssykehuset doing to clear this up, and in future situations? – Directly sad that the media has to go to the Communications Department at Nordlandssykehuset. news replies by e-mail that what Solem describes is true. Karoline is entitled to full coverage as she has been selected. – If the woman giving birth is selected for Bodø, it is right that she should not cover the stay herself. There must have been a misunderstanding here and it is only to be regretted, they write. Nordlandssykehuset in Bodø. Photo: Kasper Holgersen They add: – We will contact the person in question on Monday. We must also take a closer look at whether our routines for providing information to mothers in labor are good enough. Karoline is consequently happy that things seem to be working out. But she thinks it is worrying that news gets a different answer than what she has experienced getting. – Such mistakes should not happen. It’s sad that I wasn’t heard. I tried to take this up myself, but no one could help. She adds: – Not all such cases get this attention. Then it is downright sad that it is the media that has to be used to get the coverage you are entitled to.
ttn-69
Thought Karoline should pay for large parts of the hotel stay herself – news Nordland
