Several thousands of medical operations postponed throughout the country

Several thousand medical operations and consultations have been put on hold in Norway as a result of the Coronavirus epidemic.

Shows figures that NRK has collected from some of the largest hospitals in the country. Among them is Sørlandet hospital, which at its three departments in Kristiansand, Arendal and Flekkefjord has had to postpone 560 surgeries and a total of 10,800 outpatient treatments.

At Stavanger University Hospital, 300 operations and 11,500 consultations have been postponed, while at the University Hospital in Northern Norway, the figures are 600 and 9,000 respectively.

Oslo University Hospital had 600 postponed surgeries and 9,000 postponed consultations only in week 12.

State Secretary Anne Grethe Erlandsen in the Ministry of Health and Care Services tells NRK that hospitals are doing this to prioritize those who need it most.

– “It’s is not that some should receive help and others not, but some have to wait a little longer than others for treatment. Hospitals must now prioritize those who are most seriously ill,” says Erlandsen.

Hospitals have also found that fewer patients seek immediate help, including at Sørlandet hospitals where the decline has been by 30 percent over the past two weeks.

Management fears people are scared of infection or overloading the hospital, but says they don’t have to worry about it.

© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today