– The strike over time creates an increasing risk to life and health in northern Norway.
This is what Haakon Lindekleiv, medical director at the University Hospital of Northern Norway (UNN), tells Dagbladet.
They are dependent on aircraft to, among other things, get summer substitutes to Tromsø, and to carry out a crew change on Svalbard. According to the plan, both parts were to be completed on Monday, but now work is being done for alternative solutions.
– One of the solutions is to use ambulance aircraft. It is very undesirable, as it will affect the entire ambulance flight preparedness in northern Norway, says Lindekleiv to Dagbladet.
– Will reduce capacity on Svalbard
In Longyearbyen, UNN has an anesthetist on the rescue helicopter, who also assists the emergency hospital when needed.
Inserts cruise: – Frustrated
One of the possibilities for a crew change on Svalbard could be a chartered plane on Tuesday, according to Lindekleiv.
– This solution will mean that we will be without an anesthetist in Svalbard for a number of hours on Tuesday. This will reduce our ability to receive acutely critically ill patients, should a major incident or accident occur on Svalbard during this period, he says.
UNN has informed the State Administrator of this.
The hospital is expecting six intensive care nurse substitutes for Tromsø over the weekend. Unless they are in place, the number of “heavy” intensive care units in UNN will go from eight to six.
– These are the heaviest places, and have a regional function. Efforts are being made to find alternative transport, but so far we have not found a good solution, says Lindekleiv, and adds:
– The business is sound, but we operate with an ever higher risk. Six nurses make up over 30 shifts in intensive care next week.
NO LONGER: The main life of Longyearbyen has been cut, as a result of the SAS strike. Photo: Jonathan NACKSTRAND / AFP
sea view
According to Lindekleiv, the challenges apply to both UNN and Finnmark Hospital, which according to him are completely dependent on aircraft to transport personnel.
– It is not easy to find alternatives. The departures to other airlines are sold out for several days to come. In northern Norway, flights are crucial. The driving distance between Oslo and Tromsø is 1700 kilometers. The distance for boats between Tromsø and Longyearbyen is over 900 kilometers.
– Will struggle with resources
Assistant Governor, Sølvi Elvedahl, has in a letter to SAS asked that they take passengers both ways, instead of flying empty to the destination.
SAS informed Dagbladet on Saturday that they have asked for a dispensation also for Svalbard, but that it is not up to them to decide.
– It is the unions that must give exceptions. Throughout the week, we have seen that some have the impression that it is SAS that says no, and that the pilots are actually ready to fly. SAS has previously proposed making exceptions for all charter flights, but received a resounding no from the pilot associations, said press manager at SAS Norway, Tonje Sund.
Private jet deals created phone storm
On Sunday, it became clear that the pilot association has approved the exemption application, and that a SAS aircraft will go to Longyearbyen on Monday 11 July.
On Sunday evening, the head of the SAS Pilot Group, Roger Klokset, states that the dispensation has been extended and will apply throughout the next week and that there will be flights to and from Svalbard until and including Sunday 17 July, until TV 2.
– The SAS pilots are informed that the population on Svalbard is particularly hard hit by the strike, since the majority of flights are operated by SAS, writes Roger Klokset, leader of the Norwegian SAS pilots’ association (NSF), to Børsen.
To ensure access to critical personnel and equipment on Svalbard, the pilots grant a dispensation from the strike to fly a round trip to Longyearbyen on Svalbard on Monday. The plane will depart from Oslo via Tromsø both ways, but will only be available to passengers going to and from Longyearbyen.
– Further exemptions for flights to Svalbard will be considered continuously as they come in, he says.
In the letter to SAS, Elvedahl points out that the hospital in Longyearbyen is only dimensioned for the local population and emergency preparedness, but that they have now got stranded tourists who seize this capacity.
– We struggle to get socially critical personnel both up and down. If a major incident occurs, we will struggle to get more resources fast enough, she tells Dagbladet.
Isolated
«We can not just ask critical personnel to get on a train, or ask for help from a neighboring municipality. For the population of Svalbard, it is about 100 miles to Tromsø», She writes in the letter, among other things.
They are in daily dialogue with the Ministry of Justice and Emergency Preparedness, in addition to having meetings in the Emergency Preparedness Council.
– Spring of life
According to Elvedahl, SAS had nine flights a week to Longyearbyen. Norwegian, which is the only other commercial airline that flies to Svalbard, is responsible for three weekly flights.
– SAS is the main supplier of our lifespan. They should prioritize the Svalbard route, and not just to get people down – the need to get people to the island is at least as big, says Elvedahl.
The Governor of Svalbard is responsible for emergency preparedness for the archipelago. They always have two rescue helicopters on standby, with accompanying crew.
EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS: The Governor’s rescue helicopter in the air outside Longyearbyen. Photo: Fredrik Ljone Holst / NTB
sea view
– Some of the crew should have been changed, three of them were critical to get the change last week. We have to get them up now, but do not yet know how.
For the time being, there is no danger to life and health, according to Elvedahl. Should one reach that point, the Governor will notify the ministry immediately.
– But the stage before that, when it comes to transportation, is critical. We have no other options. They have put us in an incredibly difficult situation, Elvedahl points out.
– If we end up with a situation where we have to pick up personnel on the mainland with one of the rescue helicopters, we touch the total preparedness for Svalbard, she adds.
Press manager at SAS Norway, Tonje Sund, says the following to Dagbladet:
– The strike has serious consequences, both for passengers and society. We hope for a solution soon.
–
