The emergency services handled the episode of violence in Numedal on Friday as a PLIVO incident, which stands for “ongoing life-threatening violence”.
The procedure defines how the emergency services are to act in situations where life-threatening violence is perpetrated against several persons.
Leader of the Ambulance Association, Ola Yttre, believes the PLIVO competence of the country’s ambulance personnel is too poor.
– It is a competence that must be well practiced, but it is not. It’s too bad, says Yttre to TV 2.
– MORE EXERCISE: Ola Yttre, leader of the Ambulance Association in Delta, calls for more training of ambulance personnel around the country to deal with incidents of violence. Photo: Harald Bjørnson Jacobsen / TV 2
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He believes the lack of competence is due to inadequate training in the PLIVO procedure.
– It is too long between exercises. It is said that you should train on this once a year, but several places in the country have not practiced for several years, says Yttre.
The police will take the initiative for annual PLIVO exercises in collaboration with fire and health, it is called in the PLIVO procedure. Despite the encouragement, Yttre says that some places have not had practical training in three years.
– When it is so rare to be on a PLIVO assignment, it does not hold with training once a year. This must be practiced several times a year, he says.
Fewer exercises as a result of the pandemic
Steinar Olsen, director of emergency preparedness at the Norwegian Directorate of Health, believes that the pandemic is the reason why there have been smaller PLIVO exercises for ambulance personnel.
– Now there has been a special situation in the last two years with the corona, which has led to many not being able to complete skills exercises, Olsen says to TV 2.
The pandemic has put pressure on the health service and skills exercises have been downgraded, Olsen believes.
– KORONA: Contingency director Steinar Olsen in the Norwegian Directorate of Health, believes it is important to resume training habits from before the pandemic. Photo: TV 2
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– It has become difficult to gather a lot of people in the pandemic and therefore it has been difficult to carry out such exercises. It is important that we address the good habits from before the pandemic, says Olsen.
– Does that mean that many new employees now stand without practical PLIVO training as a result of the pandemic?
– It could theoretically be, says OIsen.
External agree that the pandemic has put greater pressure on health personnel, yet he believes that the health authorities should have prioritized PLIVO exercises.
– These are critical situations and you must have a good basis for assessing your decisions. You get that from training a lot on it and being sure that your colleague has the same competence, says Yttre.
Must catch up
TV 2 has presented the demands to the Minister of Justice and Emergency Management Emilie Enger Mehl (Sp), she acknowledges that the pandemic has put an end to important PLIVO training.
– The health service and the police have been given several temporary extra tasks. It is a consequence of the pandemic, says Mehl to TV 2.
– RELIEF OF RESPONSIBILITY: Minister of Justice and Emergency Management Emilie Enger Mehl says the government will review the emergency services’ areas of responsibility. Photo: Frode Sunde / TV 2
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Therefore, Mehl believes it is important that all emergency services are able to catch up.
– Everyone who is in the front line must have enough knowledge to be able to stand in such situations. Therefore, we must work for them to have good training, says Mehl to TV 2.
– Are you looking at the possibility of increasing the requirement for practical PLIVO training to several times a year?
– This is something we are considering. The government has started work to see how to strengthen the overall preparedness in Norway, says Mehl.
Mehl believes better police coverage is important to ease the responsibilities of ambulance and fire personnel.
– I do not want to accept a development where the tasks of the police are transferred to the other agencies. It is important that we review the responsibilities of the various agencies, she says.
This is how the police sum up the incident:
The police were notified at 08.47
The perpetrator was stripped of his knife at 08.56
Under control at 09.12 by several employees at the fire service in Nore and Uvdal (Rødberg).
A firefighter who was at the scene outside the service was the first to intervene immediately and the employees from the fire service at Rødberg came to the scene and established control at 09.12.
The police’s first patrol from Kongsberg was on the scene at 09.35. At this time, the police helicopter was also over the place.
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