Health Minister Jan Christian Vestre was mighty proud when he recently and ceremoniously opened new hospitals in Drammen and Stavanger. It didn’t take long before both needed expensive changes.
Last week Vestre had to explain to Parliament why the new hospital in Drammen lacks rooms where health care personnel can take breaks in all its wards. Newspapers Dagsavisen and Stavanger Aftenblad were among those also reporting how the widespread introduction of single rooms for patients was initially hailed, but now walls between 12 of them in Drammen must be torn down to convert them to double rooms and make better use of equipment and health care.
Vestre claimed the new hospitals are the “most modern in all of Europe,” but conceded it will be necessary to make “adjustments” during their opening phase.” He claimed they “will take care of the important professionals we have working in health care services” and that it will be relatively “simple” to turn single rooms into doubles as the need arises. “It will be up to the hospitals themselves to evaluate needs,” he said
He further claimed the economic framework for Norway’s state-run hospitals for 2026 was “good” and that he and the regional boards running them can “sit down together and see what improvements we can make.” The new hospitals, planned years ago, were also built without bomb shelters underneath them. The security situation has since changed, and the government will now demand construction of bomb shelters in all new buildings larger that 1,000 square meters.
NewsinEnglish.no staff
