Consultation statements on the proposal from Helse Nord to move all psychiatry from Mosjøen to Mo i Rana, show that Rana has laid out a plan for a full rematch for Nye Helgelandssykehuset. On Thursday, we will get an answer as to whether the Helse Nord board is in on the game.
Rana municipality has delivered 24 densely written pages which, in short, present a comprehensive argument that the entire hospital system in Helgeland should be added to Selfors. Primarily because it is allegedly so cheap.
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The word “professional” (the code word for Rana Hospital being the best) is used 20 times in the document, a document saturated with regular propaganda, and which is submitted in the same week that the same hospital is exposed around the country for already established violations of the law, and subsequent police investigation of criminal negligence and incompetence in paediatrics.
The Helgeland Council
South of Korgfjellet, the 12 member municipalities of the Helgeland Council have delegated to Alstahaug, Brønnøy and Vefsn to draw up a joint statement on the proposed amendments from Helse Nord.
The Helgeland Council, which represents over 60 per cent of the inhabitants of Helgeland – if it includes the country’s largest population without a mainland connection – warns – not surprisingly – against moving the psychiatric services from Mosjøen to Mo i Rana, as Helse Nord has advocated:
“By moving the inpatient unit in Mosjøen to Mo i Rana, Helgeland Hospital will be in danger of losing a significant proportion of its specialized professional personnel. The inpatient unit in Mosjøen has over many years built up and trained professionals with highly specialized expertise in inpatient treatment in mental health care (psychiatric nurses and social workers, clinical social workers, as well as medical and psychological specialists).
There is a high risk that many of the employees will not accept a commuting route of at least 18 miles daily round trip). It will thus entail major challenges related to recruiting, conducting training and hiring new personnel if a move is adopted, this at a time when most health services have major challenges with recruitment and staffing. In addition, there will be a significant long-term burden on existing professional staff at Mo i Rana during the period when a new department is being built, which in turn increases the risk of staff quitting or being sick.
The proposed changes therefore entail, in our opinion, a significant risk if one manages to maintain the 24-hour provision for the mentally ill in Helgeland”, writes the Helgeland Council, among other things.
Board meeting, Thursday
On Thursday morning, there is a board meeting at Helse Nord, where a proposal to invest NOK 5.5 billion in UNN Tromsø has suddenly come to the table from the management.
The Helse Nord management wants the project within the long-term budget, where only the new psychiatry building in Tromsø and the New Helgeland Hospital have been included until now.
It is therefore striking how tailored the consultation response from Rana is to a completely new situation, which will arise if the board of Helse Nord agrees to use the investment funds in Tromsø – rather than in Helgeland.
As we know, the employees’ representatives in Helse Nord have made a strong call about the structure decision for the New Helgelands hospital. On Thursday, we will get an answer to whether this environmental protection will hold up against the proposed coup attempt.
