By: Ståle Sæther, county leader Finnmark Høyre (from left), Trine Remman, 1st deputy Nordland Høyre and Benjamin Furuly, county leader Troms Høyre
Access to good and equal health services are important regardless of where you live in the country. In the north, great distances present special challenges, which put our healthcare provision in a special position. With its reorganization processes, Helse Nord has created unrest around the health services in the north.
The health institutions and The Storting agrees that there is a growing need for mental health care. In connection with the escalation plan for mental health, which looks at the need in a ten-year perspective, the Storting has decided to increase the number of inpatient places. Nevertheless, there is now a reduction in inpatient places at the district psychiatric centers (DPS), which may lead to seriously mentally ill patients receiving poorer treatment. The Minister of Health can stop this downsizing, strengthen the offer in the districts and ensure a well-accessible offer throughout the entire country, he should do that.
The Labor Party and The Center Party in government has led the health services in the north onto an unsafe course. The right-wing party in Northern Norway’s first demand for the new health minister is that he must get Helse Nord back on the right track, and adhere to the plan adopted by the Storting.
The right will do the public health service better, while at the same time we make use of available capacity available at private companies to reduce waiting times and prevent deadlines being missed. The most important thing for patients in the north is not whether they receive treatment at a public, private or nonprofit treatment facility, but that the quality is good, the waiting time is short and that the public pays.
