Hulda Gunnlaugsdottir admitted this week that she lacked support from the board of Akershus University Hospital, known as Ahus, and thus had little choice but to quit. Her exit, over a lost effort to get nurses to work more weekends, is the latest act in a long-running drama.
The hospital in Lørenskog, northeast of Oslo has suffered serious management problems since it first opened a few years ago. It was supposed to be one of Norway’s top and most modern hospitals, but it’s been plagued by constant conflict, not least when it had to take responsibility for thousands of patients from Oslo without having the staff to treat them.
It will continue to be a challenge for Norway’s new health minister, Bent Høie from the Conservative Party. Jonas Gahr Støre, who resigned as health minister for the Labour Party this week, said the hospital needs stronger management at many levels. “It’s all about balancing operations with the needs patients have,” Støre told newspaper Aftenposten.
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