Opinions This is a debate post. The post expresses the writer’s views.
I talk to many heart patients every day; both from Bodø and Salten, but also from Helgeland, Vesterålen and Lofoten. They all have their stories, but there is a general sense of security after the establishment of the PCI center in Bodø from March 2020. Many of the patients have already been treated, or have a family member or acquaintance who has received good treatment in Bodø. Many have had a better outcome and some have actually saved their lives after early treatment at the new PCI centre. Many request round-the-clock operation, which would be a natural development in order to offer adequate examination and treatment, since it is not always easy to “post the heart attack to office hours”.
The appointed expert group was not too concerned with the term “perceived patient safety”, but for our cardiac patients in Nordland this is important.
Furthermore, I wonder if a group of experts from large university hospitals is completely relevant for the assessment of a small center in Bodø. In larger countries such as Sweden and Finland, with which Norway is often compared, more and somewhat smaller centers are needed to offer treatment closer to where people live. Faster treatment preserves more of the heart’s pumping capacity. It is unreasonable to demand that residents of Nordland pay with their heart muscle cells just for the University Hospital of Northern Norway (UNN) to be a very large PCI centre. Based on the figures last year, UNN performed 1,012 PCI treatments – slightly more than Karolinska in Sweden (which is considered a large center in Sweden), while NLSH performed 474 PCI treatments, roughly the same as Umeå University Hospital. These centers in Sweden have no difficulty in training excellent heart specialists and PCI operators – so why should UNN have to? In the US, centers that perform more than 400 PCIs are designated as high-volume centers, while centers that perform more than 1,000 PCIs are designated as large, high-volume centers.
Based on geography and population, it obviously makes sense to have a PCI center in Bodø, and 24-hour operation will make full use of the opportunity. This will give more patients in Nordland a faster treatment offer, more heart muscle can be saved and more lives can be saved.
Helse Nord will also save significant amounts on air transport and also use less fuel, an important point at a time when the environmental footprint matters a lot.
Helse Nord, please, use some discretion in this matter, for Northern Norwegian health and to avoid further polarisation.
