Seher Aydar (R). Photo: Eirik Røsvik / VG
Women with lipoedema receive different help depending on where in the country they live. – Women’s health cannot be a luxury service, says the Rødt politician.
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- Lipedema is a chronic condition that involves uneven fat distribution and pain.
- A lack of national guidelines means that some people are covered for health equipment and treatment, while others are not.
- Surgery at private clinics can cost NOK 60,000 and often requires several treatments.
- Several health politicians criticize discrimination and the lack of research on women’s health.
Sea view
– Lipoedema is a brutal example of women depending on luck to get help, says member of the health and care committee, Rødt politician Seher Aydar, to VG.
Lipoedema is a chronic condition characterized by uneven fat distribution and pain.
In some parts of Norway, women with lipoedema receive covered health equipment such as compression noise and pulsator pulsatorUsed, among other things, for the treatment of lipoedema. With regular use, the pulsator can help the patient to better control their ailments, make everyday life easier and thus increase the quality of life. Source: Oslo University Hospital which they can use at home.
This is not the practice in all healthcare institutions. VG has previously written about Silje who lives in Bergen, and thus does not get coverage for compression noise and pulsator. At the same time, women with lipedema who live in, for example, Northern Norway can get it.
– It should not be the case that whether or not you get free follow-up and health care should depend on where in the country you live. A clean-up is needed here, says KrF’s health policy spokesperson, Olaug Bollestad, to VG.
Olaug Bollestad (KrF). Photo: Ole Berg-Rusten / NTB
A five-year study is currently underway at Haraldsplass Diakonale Hospital, where the aim is to find the right treatment for lipoedema.
Before the study is finished, there are no national guidelines that must be followed. Some health organizations may therefore choose to provide health equipment to the women, while others do not.
– A luxury service
It is the lack of national guidelines that means that surgery is not covered by the public.
Those women who have lipedema and want surgery must visit private clinics.
One operation in Norway can cost around NOK 60,000, and many need more.
– Private clinics have built an offer for those who can pay. Women’s health cannot be a luxury service, says Aydar in Rødt.
VG has met Anna Dorthea, who has spent NOK 130,000 on surgery in Sweden. There she removed eight liters of fat from her legs.
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BLUE MARKS: Anna Dorthea has been told that six months must pass before she can see the final result. Photo: Silje Katrine Robinson / VGHÅP: Anna Dorthea has not yet experienced lipedema pain after the operation. Photo: Silje Katrine Robinson / VG
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BLUE MARKS: Anna Dorthea has been told that six months must pass before she can see the final result. Photo: Silje Katrine Robinson / VG
There is little research on the subject, and the occurrence of lipoedema is unclear.
– Society has failed completely. We must ensure that the women who are affected get the best possible help. They depend on a doctor who happens to know something about the condition, says Aydar.
Alfred Bjørlo (V). Photo: Ole Berg-Rusten / NTB
Storting representative and health policy spokesperson for the Liberal Party, Alfred Bjørlo, believes that patients cannot be met in such different ways in Norway.
– First of all, this adds up to a typical example of women’s health not being taken seriously in Norwegian politics. We can’t have it like that, says Bjørlo to VG.
He believes that more money should be prioritized for research into women’s health.
Tips VGs journalist her
Requires action
Lipoedema is included as a diagnosis in ICD-11ICD-11ICD-11 is the World Health Organization’s current classification of recognized diseases, but has not yet been updated in the Norwegian edition. There is therefore no diagnosis code for lipoedema in the Norwegian healthcare system today.
Sandra Bruflot (H). Photo: Javad Parsa / VG
The Women’s Health Committee The Women’s Health Committee The committee was appointed on 5 March 2021 and is chaired by Christine Meyer. has recommended that the government review and update national guidelines for diseases and health conditions affecting women, and pointed in particular to lipoedema.
– The Conservative Party has requested a parliamentary report on women’s health and we have raised the lack of a diagnosis code for lipedema in Parliament, precisely because of stories like this, says member of the Health and Care Committee, Sandra Bruflot (H), to VG.
She says she expects the government to follow up.
Bård Hoksrud (Frp). Photo: Live Austgard / VG
In January 2021, Ingvild Kjerkol (Ap) asked the then Minister of Health Bent Høie (H) questions about lipoedema.
She wondered what Norwegian women are like affected by the condition, equal access to treatment is ensured.
In October 2021, Kjerkol himself became Minister of Health and Care.
– The question to Kjerkol is justified. Now she is in power herself. She must go from question to action. Two years have passed since she became health minister, says second deputy chairman of the health and care committee, Bård Hoksrud (Frp), to VG.
Researched on
State Secretary in the Ministry of Health and Care, Karl Kristian Bekeng (Ap), states that in 2020 they received a study that showed uncertainty about which treatment is most effective for patients with lipoedema, due to weak scientific documentation.
Karl Kristian Bekeng (Ap) Photo: Ministry of Health and Care
– The uncertainty is the reason why Haraldsplass Hospital in Bergen is organizing a large clinical study over five years, where women with lipoedema are trying out different types of treatment.
All four health regions are involved in finding out what is the best treatment offer for different degrees of lipoedema.
– The fact that a major research project has been launched to find out how we ensure equal access shows that there are already large and important projects underway in our joint health service to strengthen women’s health.
The Ministry of Health and Care informs that work is underway on a new strategy for women’s health that will come in 2024 – where the NOU Women’s Health Committee was appointed in 2021 to prepare a new report on women’s health and health from a gender perspective. The committee has been asked to provide an updated knowledge overview of women’s health and gender differences in health. Norway’s public studies (NOU) Source: regjeringen.novar an important contribution.
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Published: 31.12.23 at 17:56
2023-12-31 16:56:15
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