Creating more training posts to solve the GP crisis

News story | Date: 11/10/2023 | Ministry of Health and Care Services

‘In order to solve the GP crisis, we need more doctors to be trained and specialise in general practice. With 66 new positions for specialised doctors next year, we are providing the highest ever number of posts,’ says Ingvild Kjerkol, Minister of Health and Care Services.

In the National Budget for 2024, the government is proposing to spend NOK 33.3 million on roles for doctors in the first stage of medical specialisation (LIS1 posts). This will create 66 new posts, and a total of 1,185 positions will be announced in 2024. The allocation to Nasjonalt ALIS will be increased by NOK 129.5 million in 2024, which means a strengthening of NOK 329.5 million in two years.

‘This is the highest figure ever. The 66 new posts will be particularly geared towards further specialisation in general medicine. This investment is important to meet recruitment challenges in the GP scheme and the shortage of specialists in the specialist health service,’ says Minister of Health and Care Services, Ingvild Kjerkol.

Increased sustainability

This investment is in line with proposals from the expert committee for the general practitioner service, and is part of the government's comprehensive work to strengthen the GP scheme.

‘Over many years, a GP crisis has been developing, meaning 220,000 Norwegians have been without a dedicated GP. This government will reverse this trend. We have strengthened the GP service by approximately NOK 1 billion over the two budget years, 2023 and 2024. This is a historic investment in the GP scheme,’ says the Minister of Health and Care Services.

‘Our investment will make the GP scheme more sustainable. It’s important to slow down privatisation and a development where faster or better health care can only be accessed by paying,’ says Kjerkol.

Key figures

The government is proposing NOK 33.3 million for LIS1 posts. This will create 66 new posts, with a total of 1,185 positions being announced in 2024.
The government is increasing the allocation to the patient-adapted basic subsidy by NOK 250 million in 2024, the total allocation for next year being NOK 730 million. This strengthening will contribute to increased availability and capacity in the GP scheme. Framework conditions will improve, which will make it easier to recruit and retain GPs.
The government is keen to facilitate better recruitment to the GP scheme through good, flexible and safe specialist training in general medicine. The allocation to Nasjonalt ALIS will therefore be increased by NOK 129.5 million in 2024, which means a strengthening of NOK 329.5 million in two years.
Many municipalities have challenges recruiting urgent care doctors. In many places, the workload of GPs is high. This particularly applies in the districts, which goes beyond recruitment to the GP scheme. The government is therefore strengthening the ambulance subsidy aimed at district municipalities by NOK 20 million, to NOK 70 million in 2024.