Norway’s health oversight agency has issued a scathing critique of Sørlandet Hospital after multiple patient deaths and serious injuries, raising concerns about systemic failures in care. The hospital is now facing calls for a comprehensive improvement plan.
“We have concluded that there have been several breaches of health legislation in this case,” Statens helsetilsyn stated in a comprehensive report.
“SSHF has failed in its duty to provide defensible health services. The Health Supervision Authority’s assessment is that the health enterprise has operated with an unnecessarily high risk.”
Several patients have died, and others have been seriously injured at the hospital in Arendal.
Surgeries were performed by a foreign surgeon who worked as a chief physician in the gastrointestinal unit for years without being a gastrointestinal surgeon. The hospital was aware the physician was not a specialist in stomach and intestines, but was a general surgeon.
Following numerous serious oversight cases, Statens helsetilsyn has now investigated the hospital.
Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK) has obtained access to the oversight report, a recently concluded systemic case. The findings underscore a pattern of inadequate oversight within the Norwegian healthcare system.
The conclusion is clear:
Management has failed to ensure patient safety, according to Statens helsetilsyn.
“When important safety barriers are missing or do not function as intended, the risk of failure increases and it can affect patient safety.”
The Health Supervision Authority believes hospital leadership knew about the risks over time.
The agency similarly stated that the hospital leadership has not learned from the Flekkefjord case.
Sørlandet Hospital has received the report. Hospital officials told NRK that CEO Nina Mevold will not comment until Monday, when Statens helsetilsyn will present the report in Arendal.
Nina Mevold has been the CEO of Sørlandet Hospital since 2018. She is responsible for Flekkefjord, Arendal, and Kristiansand.
Foto: Per-Kåre Sandbakk / NRK
Surgeon Under Investigation
Two patients in Arendal died after undergoing stomach surgeries.
One died following surgery for a bowel obstruction.
The other was a cancer patient who should not have been operated on.
The State Administrator treated seven individual cases related to the foreign surgeon.
Here you can read some of the patient cases:
The Health Supervision Authority is also investigating the surgeon. He could lose his right to practice medicine in Norway – the individual case against him is still under consideration.
Anne Berner believes Sørlandet Hospital tried to cover up the fact that a surgeon mistakenly operated on her. The case was reported as a serious incident almost three years later.
Foto: Espen Bierud / NRK
The surgeon was removed from service over a year ago, when the cases became known.
He had been a temporary physician at the hospital since 2014, and a permanent employee since 2018.
Hospital Director Nina Mevold has previously apologized to relatives and injured patients in both the Flekkefjord case and those affected in Arendal.
Director of the Health Supervision Authority, Sjur Lehmann, will personally come to Arendal on Monday to present the report to hospital management.
Foto: Morten Andersen / NRK
Severe Systemic Failures – Again
Sørlandet Hospital has previously been fined millions of kroner. This was after allowing surgeon Jerlan Omarchanov to work as a chief physician in orthopedics at the hospital in Flekkefjord for eleven years.
He was not trained as an orthopedic surgeon – something the hospital knew.
Dozens of patients were injured and several died.
The Health Supervision Authority is clear that Sørlandet Hospital has not learned much from the Flekkefjord case.
“The use of a specialist in general surgery for specialized chief physician duties was also a central issue in the Flekkefjord case, where a general surgeon performed orthopedic surgeries… our assessment is related to the risk factor that can arise if foreseeable surgical technical issues exceed the individual surgeon’s real competence.”
The Health Supervision Authority emphasizes that it is particularly concerning that repeated oversight reveals the same deficiencies:
“It is particularly concerning that repeated oversight and internal reviews reveal the same deficiencies. Several of the findings relate to the fact that risk areas, concerns from employees and identified systemic failures have been known for a long time, without management taking concrete and targeted measures that have led to real, documented improvement.”
Director of the Health Supervision Authority, Sjur Lehmann, will personally come to Sørlandet Hospital on Monday to present the report to hospital management.
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