FRP asks the Norwegian Directorate of Health for more precise admission figures, but Espen Nakstad does not see the need.
On Friday, Nettavisen wrote about the Norwegian Directorate of Health’s (Hdir) use of admission figures.
It is Hdir that publishes what has become the most used corona overview in recent months: The number as is in the hospital every day.
Many have thought that this shows the number of corona patients in hospitals at any given time, but in reality it shows the number of covid-positive patients in hospitals. Whatever the main reason for admission.
In total, 22.4 per cent of inpatients since March 2020 have had another main cause. The number was up to 30 percent in December and will according to FHI increase now that a more contagious, less dangerous variant is dominant.
The proportion who have been admitted for another reason is known because NIPH states both figures in its overview of the number of new admissions per week. I sine weekly reports FHI highlights those admitted with covid-19 as the main reason.
But the real proportion of corona patients is not found out until FHI comes out with its reports afterwards. Therefore, the FRP is now asking for a change.
Les her: The Norwegian Directorate of Health states misleading hospitalization figures: – It is serious
The party’s health policy spokesperson, Bård Hoksrud, is one of those who was surprised by the case. He did not know that the overview applied to everyone in hospital with a positive coronary test.
– It is really sensational, because this is information that is used to implement measures. This is what people use when talking about how many people end up in hospital with covid-19. And that 20 percent is not there due to covid-19, and now up to 30 percent in recent weeks, it has something to say for the measures that are implemented.
Monday was the number coronary heart disease inpatients at 257.
Asks for change
Hoksrud says he notices FHI’s estimates that the proportion of corona-infected patients without covid-19 as the main reason for hospitalization will increase. Thus, he now wants a change in the statistics.
– With more people infected, it will only look even worse. It creates more fear in people.
– What do you want them to do?
– The Norwegian Directorate of Health must nuance this much more. I experience great trust in the health authorities and therefore little discussion about the measures. Now we have the first proper discussion, and it comes because the health authorities show that there are nuances that have not been told well enough about, says Hoksrud, and refers to the discussion about stopping drinking.
– It is serious because it is very important to be open about this type of information in order to have confidence in measures and advice, he says and asks the Norwegian Directorate of Health to provide simultaneous hospitalization figures for both covid-positive patients and only those with covid-19 as the main reason for admission.
– But the Norwegian Directorate of Health does not keep this hidden. If you read the description on their website, it says that these are inpatients with a positive coronary test.
– Yes, but the point is that when you stand at press conferences and tell what you do, most people perceive that it is talking about something else. It is important to be honest in the whole picture. Other countries have more skepticism and less confidence, and we have good confidence. When you give the whole picture, you also get great understanding when you shut down, because people understand why.
Nakstad does not understand the misunderstanding
Assistant health director Espen Rostrup Nakstad says the following to Nettavisen about the criticism from Hoksrud.
– We want the most detailed data possible about covid-19 patients within what is practically possible to register and is within privacy rules. If you want a detailed overview of how many are admitted with covid-19 as the main diagnosis, you must look at figures from NIPR (Norwegian intensive care and pandemic register) in FHI’s weekly reports. If you want a detailed overview of the burden the covid-19 patients pose on the hospitals, you have to look at the number of inpatient covid-19 patients with isolation needs, which is reported every day.
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– We understand that you think these figures are relevant because they show how many inpatients require extra consideration for infection control, but do you understand that many have misunderstood the overview, and that the way it has been used, including in press conferences, has made it seem as if there was an overview of inpatients with covid-19 as the main cause?
– The number of inpatients with covid-19 who have isolation needs is registered correctly. But patients with covid-19 as the main or secondary diagnosis are not registered in the daily count from the time they are stripped, Nakstad answers.
– Do you understand that if you misunderstand this overview, then the pandemic situation seems worse than it really is?
– The severity of the pandemic situation for the hospitals is determined by how many covid-19 patients are admitted to the intensive care unit, and to wards with simultaneous isolation needs. This is reported correctly in the daily count in the hospitals, he concludes.
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