I had a sense of patients being given more time during consultations and never feeling rushed even if the clinic was running late. […]
Kerry Greenan
What is very different from the UK, and what makes the Norwegian system possible is how it is funded.
Hippokrates exchanges are a core part of the EYFDM activity. If you would like to get an insight into how one might sound like you ca read a compelling report written by Kerry Greenan and published at the BJGP (British Journal of General Practice) Life.
Kerry Greenan is a GP Partner at Bromley-by-Bow Health Partnership, Tower Hamlets ICB Clinical Lead for Population Health and Neighbourhoods including Homelessness, and the Secretary for the European Young Family Doctors’ Movement.
In Askøy, north of Bergen, Norway, surrounded by postcard-pretty views from the clinic windows, patients were waiting patiently for their GP to return from an emergency call-out to collapsed patient in a cabin in the woods. Over an hour late for appointments, there was no grumbling, just gratitude to be seen on her return.
I was in Askøy on a Hippokrates exchange, a week-long observational placement organised by the European Young Family Doctors’ Movement. With my time as a young doctor running out, I wanted to experience primary care in a different setting. Norway, with its reputation for world-class healthcare and emphasis on continuity, felt the obvious choice. (A love of Scandi-noir and a desire to see the fjords may also have played their part.)
