On Sunday, TV 2 told about nurses at a nursing home in Bærum who have been asked to register their own dobe searches.
This initiative has set the minds of many nurses on fire, all over the country.
Lill Sverresdatter Larsen is the leader of almost 126,000 nurses. Usually she is not degraded by the members, but in recent days her phone has not stood still.
– It really boiled. I have received an unusual amount of feedback. The topic has also caught fire on social media, says Sverresdatter Larsen.
– Unreasonable order
And the union leader fully understands that they are responding.
– The nurses react strongly and are very frustrated. The load on them is already very large, so logging dobe searches was probably the last straw, says Larsen.
– RESPONDS: Sverresdatter Larsen fully understands that the nurses react. Photo: Truls Aagedal / TV 2
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Many of the nurses Sverresdatter Larsen talks to say that they do not feel recognized for the task they do. Precisely for this reason, such a form hits extra hard.
– As one of the nurses described to me: She feels that she is drowning in work, and then this measure comes here. It is perceived as a control measure, and on top of it all, they even have to register dobe visits. It is clear that they experience this as an unreasonable order, says Sverresdatter Larsen.
Over half want to quit
Never before has there been such a great shortage of nurses in this country, and the municipalities are also struggling to recruit new nurses.
Heidi Gautun at the Welfare Research Institute NOVA at OsloMet has researched the nursing staffing situation in nursing homes and in home nursing. She paints a bleak picture of the situation.
– We see a large and growing shortage of nurses in these services, who have problems recruiting and retaining nurses. More than half of the nurses who work in nursing homes and in home nursing have stated that they want to quit. Many of them are also young nurses, says Gautun.
– CONCERNED: Researcher Heidi Gautun is concerned about the shortage of nurses and that more than half of those who work in nursing homes want to quit. Photo: Truls Aagedal / TV 2
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The nurses say that the main reason why they want to quit is high time pressure and heavy workload, and that it affects the quality of the services.
– A slap in the face
One of the many young people who dream of becoming a nurse, but were now considered, is Eline Børseth (19).
– I am afraid such forms can scare people away from becoming nurses, says Børseth.
The 19-year-old takes shifts in hospital, while she waits to start nursing education. She therefore knows how much the nurses already run to work, to take care of their patients.
– AFRAID: Eline Børseth (19) is looking forward to starting nursing school, but was intimidated by the form world. Photo: Private
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– I think this is very bad treatment of the nurses. They have been at the forefront and fought during the pandemic, and getting such forms served now was like a slap in the face. It is simply offensive, says Børseth.
She believes that nurses should instead have more time to take care of patients, than to spend their time logging their own dobe visits.
– Do you still want to become a nurse?
– I was put out, but it takes more for me to let go of that dream. But I think it is important that the municipality thinks about it before they continue with this measure. We have to lift this profession up, and I do not think this case does, she says.
– Politicians must wake up and react
Both researcher Gautun and Sverresdatter Larsen in the Norwegian Nurses’ Association are clear that something must be done to reverse the negative trend among nurses.
– If you are to be able to recruit and retain personnel in these services, the workload must be reduced, and you can not do that if you do not increase staffing, the researcher says.
– MUST TURN: Researchers Gautun and Sverresdatter Larsen in the Norwegian Nurses’ Association say that clear measures must now be taken to deal with the shortage of nurses. Photo: Truls Aagedal / TV 2
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Sverresdatter Larsen believes that now the politicians must really wake up.
– The shortage of nurses is a huge problem for all of us. Nevertheless, politicians have been vocal about this topic throughout the election campaign. Now politicians, and especially those in government polls, must wake up, react and propose real solutions. Nurses’ salaries must go up and the burden must go down if we are to keep the ones we have and be able to recruit new ones, says the union leader.
Must log dobe searches: – Fear culture
The municipality apologizes
Bærum’s municipal manager for nursing and care, Cecilie P. Øyen, says that the purpose of the survey of the nurses’ working day was to assess how to work and how they can provide the best services to residents and users.
– Such a survey can be a starting point for changing the use of resources at the institutions, and making it more appropriate, says Øyen.
She further says that one of the municipality’s nursing homes added a question about toilet visits in the survey.
– It is an unfortunate and we understand very well that it caused unrest. We regret that that question was asked, says the municipal manager.
– SORRY: Municipal manager Cecilie P. Øyen in Bærum municipality regrets that the question of toilet registration was asked. Photo: Jonas Been Henriksen / TV 2
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The island says that they stopped mapping that way, when they were made aware of the question of dobe visits.
– The intention behind the survey was good, and then it had an unfortunate outcome and we apologize for that. It was clumsy done and will not happen again, says Øien.
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