It is necessary to save money and improve efficiency where possible. But at a time when the healthcare system must be a higher priority, it is wrong to cut the activity on health education at NTNU.
Published:
26 April 2024 at 21:22
Updated:
26 April 2024 at 21:22
You are now reading an editorial. It expresses Adresseavisen’s opinion.
– We have to reduce costs and rethink with fewer employees, says dean Siri Forsmo at NTNU’s Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences to Adresseavisen. Norwegian universities and colleges receive less money from the state. It also affects NTNU, where they are now trying to save money in several areas.
Faculty of Medicine and health sciences are hit hard. They must cut expenses by NOK 68 million already this year and will probably have to reduce the number of employees by 70 full-time equivalents. Several study programs are in danger of being closed down or being moved. NTNU’s departments in Gjøvik and Ålesund are particularly vulnerable.
Employees at occupational therapy in Gjøvik or healthcare in Ålesund risk their workplace being moved to Trondheim. NTNU will probably have to resort to severance packages and/or dismissals.
The cuts will fortunately not lead to NTNU training fewer doctors and nurses. On Friday, we also learned that more people have applied to the medical and nursing studies this year than last year. It is good news after the number of applicants to nursing studies has decreased for several years.
When more people apply to health education and health research, a strong professional environment is needed. Big cuts and 70 fewer man-years could instead weaken these environments at NTNU. Did the government imagine that this could happen when they reduced the grants to the universities? How does the new health minister, Jan Christian Vestre (Ap), react to this news?
We agree in that it is necessary to save money in tight times and understands that the universities must also take part in this. At the same time, we remind the government of what Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støres (Ap) has said about economic policy. Tighter times mean tougher priorities. Nevertheless, there are two areas where higher investment is needed: Health and defence.
The cuts that will happen at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences at NTNU, does not harmonize well with that objective.
