Staffing Challenges in Healthcare: A Costly and Human Burden
The healthcare sector in both Norway and the United States is facing significant staffing challenges. These issues are not only driving up operational costs but also negatively impacting the quality of patient care. High Absenteeism, Serious Consequences In Norway, sickness absence among healthcare workers is a staggering 40% higher than in other industries. This leads to increased reliance on overtime and temporary staff, placing financial and emotional strain on both institutions and their employees. In the United States, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that 7.8 million workers were absent due to illness in January 2022, more than double [...]
Building a culture for full-time employment with Tech and Innovation
In September, SynPlan hosted a roundtable conference with unions, municipalities, and universities to discuss the full-time culture of municipal health and care services. The conference was held at NTNU’s office in Oslo and had participation from Norsk Sykepleierforbund, Fagforbundet, Norwegian Association of Local and Regional Authorities (KS), Trondheim municipality, Oslo municipality, NTNU and Nord University. The event was facilitated by Werner Christie, former Minister of Health and Camilla Roede Skevik & Hai Nguyen from NTNU A high proportion of part-time employees is one of the biggest challenges to Norwegian municipalities. Combined with the shortage of GPs and nurses, that [...]