Health (Helse) Midt-Norge has entered into an agreement with Ibsensykehusene (Ibsens Hospitals) AS and is moving the offer of circumcision of boy children to Gjøvik, Porsgrunn and Arendal.
“This means that those who want circumcision must leave their regions.They get an offer that we partially enlist. But they have to pay their own medical bills and travel expenses,” said Henrik Sandbu, Senior Vice President at Helse Midt-Norge, to Adresseavisen newspaper.
According to the newspaper, the price of the treatment will be approximately NOK 4,000.
‘’This is a very good solution. This solves the problem for many families,”said Matri Abroud, cultural consultant at St. Olav Hospital.
After parliament decided that the government should establish an offer for circumcision of boys in 2014, hospitals have been struggling to follow up and very few boys have been circumcised. Thus, the health authorities have seen sending out private tenders, and Helse Sør-Øst (South-East) has previously entered into an agreement with Ibsen’s Hospital.
St. Olavs Hospital established the offer in 2015, and carried out 37 circumcisions in the same year. According to ‘Dagens Medisin’, St. Olav was the public hospital that performed the most circumcisions, reported Adresseavisen newspaper. But last summer, St. Olav announced that they could no longer maintain the offer.
“We had an agreement with St. Olav to do the operations. But they need capacity and must prioritise sick children rather than the healthy children. It is a priority we understand,’’ said Sandbu. At the same time, he emphasised that Helse Midt-Norge has to relate to the parliament’s decision.
© NTB scanpix / #Norway Today
