In the NRK series “Gåten Agnes” with Tore Strømøy, the life of the deceased Agnes Waade is examined.
In the second episode of the series, Strømøy and the editorial staff try to gain access to documents from Waade’s home municipality Indre Fosen, in addition to her patient record at the health trust Helse Nord-Trøndelag.
While the municipality gives Strømøy what appears to be a significantly skimmed version, this is his reaction when he receives the document from Helse Nord-Trøndelag:
“This was something else, yes,” says Strømøy in the series.
The health trust provided partial access on the basis of an exemption provision in the Health Personnel Act.
– They did not want me
Responds to manufacturing
Kathinka Meirik, development manager at Helse Nord-Trøndelag, is called by Strømøy in the series. Here is a clip of the conversation between the two, but Meirik claims Strømøy did not ask if he could record the conversation with her. She responds to this, but thinks one thing is more reprehensible:
– It is far worse that the conversation has been cut, so that it appears that a journalist can only call Helse Nord-Trøndelag and be given what should be of confidential information, Meirik writes in a debate post in Central Norwegian debate.
– Maybe it turned out to be a good TV dramaturgy, but I’m very uncomfortable being portrayed as the “hero” in this case. Especially when, in my opinion, it creates a huge risk for actual, now living patients in the health care system, Meirik says to the trade magazine journalists.
– Solved the mystery
– The damage has occurred
She must have been sent a recording before the series was to be shown, and must then have received assurances from Strømøy that it should be pointed out that the case processing was in accordance with the legislation. In the end, she must have accepted this.
– I should not have done that. Because there was no context as promised in the program. And the damage has happened; we at Helse Nord-Trøndelag have already received the first complaint from a worried patient who wonders if their medical record will be handed out to the media after they have died.
Meirik says that she, together with both a lawyer and later the state administrator, considered the reasons to be good enough to publish the information they provided access to. And like the municipality, parts of the record were skimmed.
– In fact, we gossiped so much that Strømøy contacted me again both in writing and orally to complain that too much was gossiped. This is deftly left out in the portrayal of a “naughty” and a “kind” actor in the TV series.
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NRK answers
NRK has responded to Meirik’s debate post in Central Norwegian debate. Program manager at NRK Trøndelag, Kristian Karlsen, answers that NRK and the press have a duty to uncover criticisable conditions and public failure.
– That the municipality is a party to Agnes Waade’s case, and at the same time has the documents we needed to tell about the injustice she was subjected to, makes this access case extra special, Karlsen writes.
Arouses international attention
He further says that the production company was in contact with Indre Fosen municipality about the documents four months before they had access to the document.
– The municipality said in interviews with us that they wanted to be on a line of openness. Nevertheless, they end up handing out documents where almost everything has been skidded out, and where the municipality has not explained or justified the skidding. That there are restrictions on confidential material is something we know well and are used to working with, says Karlsen.
He points out that Levanger Hospital and the State Administrator have justified the assessments, and given more insight than Indre Fosen municipality.
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