Lucky are those living in cities with hospitals and who can get treatment without going beyond their own ability to pay
The purpose of the post is the need to amend the Patient Travel Regulations section 12. Right to diet and accommodation allowance. This is to ensure an equal health service with the rest of the country, based on needs and not on the individual’s ability to pay.
From 2025, the Patient Travel Regulations changed the term « coverage of travel costs » to travel benefits. Travel benefits are a word of words, which was used about those who could not support themselves, who received financial social assistance, etc. Should everyone who rightfully need hospital treatment outside the home municipality standing with the hat in hand and getting a travel allowance? What attitude is what the legislature wants to show? The regulation states; «A patient who is entitled to a travel allowance is also entitled to accommodation allowance for the necessary accommodation during the trip of up to NOK. 711 per day. ”
Centralization of hospitals Functions as a result of the distribution of functions and tasks between hospitals, increasing the number of elderly people and the development of illness will lead to more people having to travel to hospitals both within and outside their own health region. This will cause the greatest burden for those living in the districts and in cities without hospitals.
Unfortunately, patient travel challenges for patients are mentioned to a very small extent in overall health assessments, from HOD, the Directorate of Health, FHI, in board cases from Helse Nord RHF and Finnmarks Hospital HF. Nor can I find research on patient travel challenges.
In Finnmark there are two local hospitals, one in Hammerfest and one in Kirkenes. In Finnmark there are approx. 75,000 inhabitants, about 55,000 inhabitants do not live in the two cities with hospitals. Many have to travel to get hospital treatment and use patient travel. Many patients must travel to UNN (our university hospital) in Tromsø, and it is not uncommon to travel for treatment outside their own health region. Patient travel is very important for anyone who does not live in cities with hospitals and who will contribute to equal health services. There are 43 hospitals in Norway.
It is not uncommon for patients to travel to hospital during a period of time to get repeated treatments for the same condition. It is not uncommon for cancerous sickness to receive radiotherapy over several days. UNN HF has a penguin medical hotel where radiation patients can live. An accommodation w/breakfast costs for patients in treatment NOK. 1 375 per night. If you receive radiation and need 5 nights it will be NOK. 6 875. A allowance of NOK. 711 per night x 5, which is deducted from NOK. 6 875, the patient must post NOK. 3 520 for a week’s treatment. For repeated treatments for the same condition, the amount can quickly reach over NOK 8-10,000, if you are unlucky to stay far from hospital. If, for health reasons, the patient cannot return between the periods of radiation, it must be arranged for the patient to be at no extra cost at the hospital. I myself have experienced that a patient with severe cancer diagnosis, who received treatment at UNN, considered ending radiation because of the large costs this entailed.
Due to increasing tourism in Tromsø, the prices of hotel overnight stays have risen to heaven. This makes it financially challenging for relatives and be with their loved ones who is a patient at UNN. This is a challenge that requires a separate investigation.
In a debate post in Altaposten says Director Ole Hope, Finnmark Hospital, that patient travel in Finnmark has about 30,000 flights and that patient travel in Finnmark has around 100,000 trips to and from treatment institutions annually. How many individual patients from Finnmark have been given an organized journey from patient travel trips? Finnmarkings travel relatively most in Norway? How many of the journeys to and from the treatment site could have been avoided, if the health enterprise organizes the health service differently. As an example, it is approx. 50 patients traveling from Alta to Hammerfest hospital to treat an eye disease AMD, age -related macula degeneration. I have been following my 92 -year -old mother for two years, every month in all kinds of weather from Alta to Hammerfest hospital, to take a syringe in that eye (which takes about 10 minutes) to preserve the residual vision. Travel to and from Hammerfest eventually became too stressful for her and she said she would rather lose sight, than take the burdensome journeys. Why can’t they approx. 50 patients from Alta with AMD receive a treatment offer in their own municipality. It will reduce patient travel by 50 per month x 12, which will be 600/1200 round trip a year. We are getting even more elderly in Finnmark. It might be worthwhile for the Finnmark Hospital and not least for patients to provide treatment of AMD locally?
How many complaints about patient trips are dealt with locally and with the state manager in the country is difficult to document. It has not been possible to find the total number of patient travel complaints dealt with by the state manager in the country. The annual report for 2023 from the state manager in Troms and Finnmark, it says: We still see a significant increase in complaints in several case areas, and an increase in complexity and scope in the cases. This has also contributed to increased case processing time. At the health sections of the State Manager in Troms and Finnmark it was treated 204 (My highlight) Patient travel cases in 2023. It does not appear how many patient travel cases received 2023. We also do not know what are the main features of the 204 complaints that were dealt with.
What can be learned from the complaints and can there be documentation that can help change the patient travel regulations?
Proposal to amend the Patient Travel Regulations section 12. Right to dietary and accommodation allowance:
When a doctor has assessed the patient’s needs and there are documented medical reasons why the patient needs an organized patient journey and needs accommodation at the hospital/hotel, the patient should be covered by expenses for the necessary accommodation. The patient should only pay the current deductible for an outpatient clinic in hospitals for the stay, which is currently NOK. 403. The self -section will be included in the exemption card, which in 2025 is NOK. 3 278.
I hope my post is taken seriously by those who have the power and authority to change the patient travel regulations, so that everyone in this country gets good and equal specialist health services for anyone who needs it when they need it, regardless of age, gender, residence, economy and ethnic background.
