The government formed a committee of experts who would make concrete proposals for measures to strengthen the GP scheme.

According to the government, more than 175,000 residents do not have a general practitioner.

– It mainly affects the most vulnerable patients and can reinforce the dichotomy in health care. This development must be reversed, says Minister of Health and Care Ingvild Kjerkol (Ap) in press release.

This situation is referred to as a crisis.

Have to think again

– The current action plan has some good actions, but it doesn’t have the desired effect. Then we have to think again, and we have to take new steps. “We cannot continue on the same path and hope the situation will resolve itself over time,” Kjerkol said.

Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre (Ap) said that in next year’s state budget, the government will take steps that will contribute to ensuring that everyone can have a general practitioner to visit, and that the profession will once again become attractive to professionals.

– At the same time, there is a need to more closely assess how the scheme can be made sustainable in the future, said Støre.

The expert committee should provide the government with concrete proposals for the organization and financing of the GP scheme. In addition, the committee will have to assess whether there are tasks that other personnel can complete under the direction of the GP, or whether there are tasks that can be removed from the scheme, according to the press release.

Challenges have increased over time

The government writes that challenges in GP schemes have increased over time. The situation now is that young doctors are not registering for the scheme, general practitioners have a high workload, and more and more municipalities are experiencing recruitment challenges.

Although the action will be taken early next year, the main challenge will not be solved in one year and in one state budget.

– Therefore, we have decided to form a committee of experts to gain the best knowledge about which actions will, in a slightly longer timeframe, be targeted and solve the challenges, the government wrote.

The expert committee must submit the first report with initial assessment and recommendations by December 1, 2022. The final assessment report and recommendations must be submitted no later than April 15, 2023. The government will then incorporate the inputs they receive into the 2024 APBN.