Since 1982, Hans-Gunnar Wear-Hansen has run a general practice as a doctor. But never in his almost 40 years in the profession has he experienced such a demanding situation as the one he is facing now.
– We can not bring everything with us. The purpose of our job is threatened and our time is not enough, he says to Dagbladet.
Wear Hansen works at a doctor’s office in Spikkestad in Asker municipality, and together with three other doctors is responsible for thousands of patients. So many that he has seen himself forced to cut his lists considerably.
– Previously I had around 2500 patients on my lists, but now I have cut the list to 1500. I have 1600 on the list, but have had to cut it to 1500. The only way my patient lists are shorter is by natural attrition, death for example.
Bursting in tears on the podium
Very critical
Wear Hansen says that several of his colleagues also despair over the situation consisting of full patient lists, long working days and a lot of extra work after the end of the working day.
Two weeks ago, Dagbladet could tell about Inger Klippen’s everyday work. The GP in Sandnes, like Wear Hansen, experiences the working days as very demanding due to the long days.
– I’m just one of many. This is not something I only experience, but I work in an office where we are four GPs, and it is the case that at least one of us cries at work every day, she said.
Wear Hansen believes that this underlines the problem which, according to him, has persisted for several years. The general practitioner points out a concrete example that illustrates the problem that both doctors and patients face.
– A patient came to me to check a mole. He had moved, but did not get a new GP where he had moved because there was no vacancy. Therefore, he had to drive 120 miles to get to me to do a simple check of a mole.
– It illustrates how big this snowball is about to get. Now it is so big that the authorities will soon not be able to lift it, he believes.
- Updated figures from Helfo, which Dagbladet has gained access to, show that more than 138,000 Norwegians are without a GP.
Will change the GP scheme
Due to the large workload, Wear Hansen will have a change in the GP scheme. He hopes the health authorities will come up with solutions that can make it easier for all GPs.
– I am afraid the GP scheme will collapse completely if they do not come up with any proper solutions.
– What kind of solutions are you thinking of?
– They must stimulate and help the new GPs into the practice of a support scheme so that they can buy in or that the municipalities can get so much money so that they can run the doctors’ offices, he suggests.
When the government presented the state budget for 2022, NOK 450 million was allocated to stabilize and improve the GP scheme. The 69-year-old thinks this is not enough.
– It’s only getting worse and worse. They come with some means, but it’s like splashing water on the goose, he says resignedly.
view more
–
– Pointing in the wrong direction
State Secretary in the Ministry of Health and Care Services, Ole Henrik Krat Bjørkholt, has been presented with the criticism from Wear Hansen. He shares the concern.
– We are well aware of the challenges in the GP scheme and fully share that concern. This is not something that has happened now. This has happened gradually over many years. The GP scheme is one of our most important priorities. We stand by that, he says to Dagbladet.
Bjørkholt points to the amount allocated to the GP scheme in the state budget, but insists that they must do more.
Many become critically ill
– We know very well that the need is even greater. I can assure all doctors and patients that the GP scheme is one of our focus areas, he assures.
When asked what specific measures they are taking to improve the medical situation beyond increasing the total amount, he refers to three specific measures:
- Higher basic funding and shorter patient lists.
- Recruitment positions for young doctors who are considering the GP profession.
- Introduction agreements that give doctors specializing in general medicine the right to social security reimbursement when they work on other doctors’ lists even if they are present.
– Do you feel any time pressure?
– We see that the arrows are pointing in the wrong direction, and that they have been doing so for a long time. But it is important to take the right steps instead of panicking.
– If you make concise, drastic measures, it can have unintended consequences that can be devastating for the most thorough measures. We must beware of acting in panic.
–
