Health, Salary Increase | Lures nurses from all over the country to Røyrvik with an extra NOK 200,000 in salary

Table of Contents

• 1 200,000 more in salary
• 2 19 candidates so far
• 3 National interest
• 4 What are the highest paying states for registered nurses ‌in 2024?

(Namdal Newspaper): Before the summer holidays, NA met with the municipal manager for education and health, Milda Alice Svestad, and the unit manager for health and care, Maren Wik Aspnes, at the municipal building.

They showed all the gaps that needed to be filled in circulation within the health service. Then they needed ten workers to implement the solitaire.

As a result Røyrvik had to hire workers from a temp agency, which led to millions in higher costs for a hard-pressed municipal economy.

200,000 more in salary

After the summer vacation, the city administration came up with a new plan to meet the challenge: How about increasing the salary?

As said, as done. On October 1st, the city council accepted a surprise salary increasewhich gives nurses an extra payment of NOK 200,000 and healthcare workers an extra NOK 100,000 in payment per year.

Although the proposal seemed expensive at once, the politicians argued that it would result in savings of NOK 400,000 per year each year – a total of NOK eight million per year – compared to the use of temporary workers.

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– None of us think this is very good. But when we look at the situation we are in, where we spend up to NOK 1.6 million in one year, we have to do something. And maybe this is a measure that means we can get health workers from afar. In any case, I am optimistic, said the mayor Kenneth Tømmermo Reitan.

19 candidates so far

The positions in the health department have been advertised, and now that the deadline for applications is approaching, the Svestad town manager can give us the details.

– So far, we have received 19 applications for the three nursing positions we advertised. We have received two applications for the seven positions as a health care worker, she tells NA.

– What do you think of the result?

– We had naturally hoped for more applications from health care workers. But at the same time, there aren’t that many of them, says Svestad.

The town is even happier with the interest in becoming a nurse in Røyrvik.

– Yes, this is what we were hoping for. It’s great to get such a response to the test. Going from zero or one request to almost 20 feels terrible.

National interest

The juicy salary increase caused national attention, and Røyrvik was put on the map – also in prime time on NRK1. The town was reviewed – and praised – in the comedy program “New again”.

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– How has he been standing in this process?

– We think it turned out very well. It was great fun to be named on “Nytt på nytt”, and I think we should take that as a positive. It contributed to the campaign becoming a main talking point, especially for the nurses, says the city manager.

The deadline for applications closes on Sunday 17 November, after which the work to find the right people for the roles will begin.

– The goal is for the city to not use a temp agency in the future. If we succeed in this, the goal is to achieve sustainability in the health sector. That we manage to keep both those we hire and those we already have, says Svestad.

The salary increase scheme was effective from November 1, and the city manager is happy that the employees are being recognized for the work they are doing in this way.

– They have been in a challenging position for a long time, with a heavy workload and many new colleagues at all times. They deserve this recognition, says the city manager for education and health, Milda Alice Svestad.