University Hospital of Northern Norway, Waiting lists | Bring home patients from UNN

On 19 June, the Helse Nord board is scheduled to adopt the measures for division of tasks and functions in the specialist health service. Therefore, they have asked municipalities, counties and other consultation bodies to provide input.

The health and welfare committee in Tromsø municipality recently adopted a proposal which will be sent to Helse Nord as such input. In the proposal, it is pointed out that several private clinics have been established in Tromsø because UNN is unable to remove the waiting lists.

“Tromsø municipality therefore believes that it may make sense for UNN/Helse Nord to establish a separate unit dedicated to removing the waiting lists (for the most relevant patient groups), in order to secure resources and expertise in the public healthcare system”says the proposal.

The proposal came from committee chairman Thomas Birkeland (Ap). Birkeland himself thinks the proposal is creative. The opposition was not impressed, and believes it is an unnecessary attack on the private providers who, after all, get rid of these health care queues.

The political dividing lines are typical. But no politicians take up the obvious solution, neither in the input nor in the public debate.

The startling thing about the consultation input is that one hardly deals with the really big challenge for which the municipality has a particular responsibility. Namely patients ready for discharge.

Tromsø municipality is responsible for almost half of these patients, whom they are unable to bring home for rehabilitation or care.

UNN is far above the national average for overhang days. In 2023, they had 14,584 inpatient days ready for discharge. Each day costs NOK 18,175, of which the municipalities pay NOK 5,508.

For UNN, the cost of caring for patients ready for discharge, who take up space for others queuing for treatment, is a staggering NOK 185 million a year.

Almost half of this cost is therefore from Tromsø municipality, which is unable to get patients out of UNN and into suitable municipal health and care institutions.

It is alarming. It is a growing problem that the hospital is used as a storage place for patients who need municipal health services.

UNN does not need more departments. They need municipal politicians who work to bring the patients home.