– I am happy that we have a budget that is in place, says CEO of Sykehuset Østfold Hege Gjessing. On Monday, Sykehuset Østfold unanimously adopted the budget for 2024. They aim to manage with a profit of NOK 25 million next year. – It is very important for Sykehuset Østfold, because we need to build out and then we have to set aside money to get it done, says Gjessing. But it will not be an easy task, according to the employees. – The budget is very risky, and we see that the management speed we have now can continue into 2024. That’s what Britt Fritzman, employee representative at Sykehuset Østfold, says. Britt Fritzman is an employee representative at Sykehuset Østfold. Photo: Even Bjøringsøy Johnsen / news This year the hospital is managing a deficit of around NOK 200 million. The hospital also believes they have a challenging time ahead of them. – There is a high risk and we are in a difficult situation, says Gjessing. Demanding – We are underfunded and have budgets that mean that we have to take high risks to get the budgets implemented, it tastes bad, says Norwegian Nurses Association Øyvind Moksness. He is not confident that they will manage to turn a profit next year. – If everything positive happens at the same time, it is realistic, but it rarely does, says Moksness. Company representative in the Norwegian Nurses Association Øyvind Moksness is concerned about the development. Photo: Julie Helene Günther / news He believes it is a challenging budget both for the employees, but also for the patients at the hospital. – This is a risk both for the employees who have to work a lot, but also for the patients who we are actually supposed to help, says Moksness. On Monday 18 December, the budget for Sykehuset Østfold for 2024 was adopted. Photo: Benjamin Vorland Andersrød / news The reason for the deficit According to the hospital, there are several reasons for the deficit. Here are some of the deviations: Costs related to overtime and shifted working hours due to high levels of sickness absence High consumption of external hiring of psychologists and psychiatrists The challenges are greatest in clinics for surgery, clinics for women and children, clinics for medicine, clinics for mental health care and drug treatment In the board meeting, several challenges were pointed out, which the hospital has. The biggest challenge is the financial situation. – The situation in 2024 is that the company lacks funds for absolutely necessary investments in clinical operations. The financial situation must be turned around as quickly as possible, the documents from the board meeting state. Has too little space The employees are satisfied that a budget has been adopted. Nevertheless, they are very worried about future developments. – We are a hospital that is too small and has an occupancy rate of over 100 on all posts, says employee representative Britt Fritzman. – This means that we cannot find places to keep the patients, we have patients in corridors. There is a constant search to find a place to treat the patients. CEO at Sykehuset Østfold Hege Gjessing says they are in a demanding situation. Photo: Even Bjøringsøy Johnsen / news In the introduction to the budget, a full employment freeze was proposed. The proposal was removed in the adopted budget. Some of this year’s deficit is due to shifted working hours, as a result of high sickness absence. – We have to have very good management throughout, especially with overtime at the hospital, says managing director Hege Gjessing.
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– We are in a difficult situation – news Oslo and Viken – Local news, TV and radio
