Nurses are replacing auxiliary nurses

Last year, auxiliary nurses accounted for only 10.1 per cent of the man-years worked in somatic hospitals. In 1980 the figure was 17.2 per cent. Over the same period of time the man-years of nurses have risen from 28.9 to 38.2 per cent.

Over the course of the 1980s and 1990s, health professionals with three or more years of college have increased their share of the man-years in Norwegian hospitals. In 1980, physicians accounted for 8.8 per cent of the number of man-years in the hospitals. By 1997 the share had risen to 11.6 per cent.

With the exception of physiotherapists, other college-trained health professionals such as medical laboratory technicians, radiographers and occupational therapists also increased their share of the man-years in hospitals. As a whole, this group has increased from 6.3 per cent of the manpower in 1980 to 9.2 per cent in 1997. The man-years of administrative, technical and service personnel, which accounted for 33.7 per cent in 1980, fell to 29.4 per cent by the end of 1997. The number of other unskilled healthcare workers was reduced from 4.6 to 0.8 per cent during the same period.

It is often claimed that the need for more college-trained personnel is because of the increasing specialization and technologicalization taking place in the hospitals. At the same time, the composition of patients is shifting towards increasing numbers of elderly with complicated chronic ailments, indicating a greater need for care.

Several man-years
The number of man-years in somatic hospitals increased by 2.8 per cent from 1996 to 1997, accounting for an increase of 1,485 man-years. Physician man-years increased by 477, up 8.3 per cent from the year before. Man-years of nurses increased by 5.6 per cent, accounting for 1,025 man-years. Growth was also seen in man-years of physiotherapists, medical laboratory technicians, radiographers and occupational therapists. The number of auxiliary nurses, however, fell slightly. Administrative, technical and service personnel were virtually unchanged.

New Statistics
Second line health services, somatic, 1997.
The statistics are published annually in the Weekly Bulletin of Statistics. For more information contact: Anne.Mundal@ssb.no, tel. +47 21 09 45 33, or Vidar.Strandseter@ssb.no, tel. +47 21 09 44 44.

Weekly Bulletin issue no. 50, 1998