15. feb. 2023 12:10 – Updated 15 Feb. 2023 12:10
Several parties criticize Health and Care Minister Ingvild Kjerkol (Ap) for being vague when it comes to the financial leeway the hospitals actually have.
On Wednesday, Kjerkol had to stand in court and defend the government’s health policy in the Storting’s question time.
Høyre’s Tone Trøen pointed out that the hospitals are in a very demanding financial situation, which requires clear management.
– The government is contributing to the opposite, stated Trøen.
– No sausage bun
She pointed out that since 17 January, the government has sent a number of different signals regarding the size of the hospitals’ purse.
– It is still completely unclear what leeway the hospitals have in 2023, said Trøen.
KrF leader Olaug Bollestad is also critical of Kjerkol’s management of the hospitals.
– Does Kjerkol realize that she does not manage a hot dog stand, but actually manages the most important sector to create security for people? The unpredictability only so far in 2023 does not indicate that, she says.
– At the latest yesterday, I met shop stewards in the health sector in Rogaland, and they say that the mixed signals from the government are causing great confusion and uncertainty, says Bollestad.
– Honest conversation
Kjerkol admits that the health service needs predictability.
– The most important thing is that we have an honest conversation about the challenges. But what is difficult to predict is what price and wage growth will be, she pointed out.
According to Kjerkol, the Ap-Sp government jacked up the hospital budget last year by 4.7 billion compared to the Solberg government’s proposal.
On Monday, the government also put an extra 2.5 billion on the table as a permanent increase in the hospital’s operating grant. In addition, the hospital grant will be adjusted for price and wage growth in connection with the revised national budget (RNB) in May, promises Kjerkol.
– But it is still the case that the hospitals have to make tough priorities, says the Minister of Health.
Frp: – Out of hibernation
Recently, the spotlight has been directed at, among other things, unworthy conditions in care for the elderly. Frps Bård Hoksrud believes the government is far too late in increasing the number of nursing home places and points out that only 93 new places are planned this year.
– This does not hold. Now is the time for the government to come out of hibernation, he said, and once again dealt a blow to the FRP dream of state-run care for the elderly.
It is a dream Kjerkol fundamentally disagrees with. But at the same time, she recognizes that care for the elderly in many places is not good enough today. The problem is exacerbated by a shortage of health personnel and a sharp increase in the number of elderly people. By 2040, there will be 250,000 more people over the age of 80.
– We must make changes faster to take care of our elderly, says the Minister of Health.
