Bad to have responsibility but no powers

« I think it is clearly good to have different form of operation. I think it’s not good that the whole business is on one hand and I think it is a private clinic here the country.

She emphasizes the importance of listening to GPs when it comes to working on improvements to the system and encourages people in the country to be heard when it comes to violations within it.

Steinunn made the position of health care a topic in post at Vísi over the weekend where she discussed how doctors today have no room to prevent prevention and prevent chronic illnesses as they would like. Waiting for times is very long and it can be difficult to get to the GP if the problem is not very urgent.

« For a number of reasons, a large part of doctors’ time goes to extinguish fire, instead of preventing them from igniting, » Steinunn wrote.

« This is a binary problem »

Steinunn discussed the status of home medicine and health care in the country at mbl.is, but she says the problem within the system is actually twofold.

« Both of us are not utilizing our GPs correctly or effective and at the same time they are clearly too few. So this is a double problem, » says Steinunn, adding:

« While GPs are no more, it is very bloody to not just go into a comprehensive re -thinking of how we prioritize their workforce. »

In this context, she points out that a great deal of time for GPs is spent on various paperwork and bureaucracy and that when attempts have been made to promote health care over the years, the focus has usually been on « earmarked special projects » rather than strengthening the basic work of health care.

Not good if there is only one service provider

According to the quality and service surveys that have been conducted for the Icelandic Health Insurance in recent years, it has been found that the satisfaction of the clients of the health centers in the capital area is declining.

Most of the satisfaction is, however, among the clients of private stations, but in 2024 privately, the top four seats were ranked when asked for the satisfaction of clients.

Asked if we should look more widely at private stations to improve services within the health care, says Steinunn:

« I think it’s clearly good to have different forms of business. I don’t think it’s good that the whole business is on one hand and I think it is private health centers here give the public system just good restraint.

It is not good that there is only one service provider, including one employer for healthcare professionals. Having more than one form of business is, in my opinion, the good for everyone. « 

« The people on the floor may operate the service »

Steinunn also points out that doctors who work within private health centers feel that they get more autonomy and that it is good.

« The people on the floor may run the service it is providing, » says Steinunn.

In various neighboring countries of Iceland, including Denmark, it is customary for GPs to have more autonomy than is generally the case in Iceland, where they often operate their own offices with an agreement with the state. Asked if this is something that can be considered, Steinunn says:

« In this context, I think it is very good that both the responsibility for the business and the decisions that are made on how things are being operated are on the hands of the doctors themselves. It is very bad to be responsible but have no power over how things are done.

In Denmark, there is a very long experience of doctors running health care themselves, and it is surprising to many that Iceland is one of the countries in the world that has the least private business in the health care system. Proportionally, there is a very small private business here. Most of the health services are public and we have a very centralized system. So the private business is up here is just carbon.

While we make sure everyone has access to the service regardless of the economy and that there are agreements with this party by health insurance, I do not see the problem with the private business. « 

« We certainly want to provide better services and be able to do various things like prevention better than we do today, » says Steinunn.

May be heard

In the aforementioned opinion poem at Vísi, Steinunn spoke that the Icelandic nation might have shown one too much long -term and endurance when it comes to accessibility in the health care system.

Asked if it thinks more pressure is needed from the public so that the government properly addresses the case, says Steinunn.

« I clearly think it needs more pressure. Now we are naturally with a relatively new government that has emphasized health care issues and I hope it will stand up to those emphases and hopefully it will come as soon as possible, » says Steinunn, adding:

« You hear so much from people in town about all kinds of difficulties in getting a service that should just be very simple and mundane and you are a little surprised that people should not hear more.

There are individual individuals who do so and then it is noticed. I think people can be more diligent about it and then just agree with us. « 

« We certainly want to provide better services and be able to do various things like prevention better than we do today, » says Steinunn.