Over the next few decades, there may be twice as many nurses as today, shows a new report.
By 2040, Norway will need between 167,000 and 224,000 nurses, wrote The News Agency of Norway (ANB) in a report on socio-economic analysis carried out by the Directorate of Health.
Even in the autumn of 2016, six out of ten municipalities said it is difficult to obtain nurses,according to employer surveys from the municipality Health Directorate (Helsedirektoratet).
Last year, the barometer showed that the nurses were the most difficult group of professionals to obtain.
Eli Gunhild By, head of the Norwegian Nursing Association (NSF), said it is important to update the nurses’ expertise.
“Today we educate two nurses, and get one. It’s a waste we can’t continue with, said By. She believes that the solution for maintaining competence is “a wage rate that grows” and that resources are used in a different way.
Health Spokesperson, Sveinung Stensland, is not surprised by the future nursing needs.
“The government has been committed to strengthening nursing education, both in terms of quality and
the number of places,” he said, but also pointed out that not all challenges can be solved with increased pay.
“Many parts of the public sector need professionals. It is therefore important that wage formation is a matter between the parties in the workplace and not decided politically”.
© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today