Health minister prioritises other hospital services over specialist fund

Health Minister Eyðdis Hartmann Niclasen has chosen to prioritise other areas of the hospital system over a dedicated fund for specialist doctors in next year’s budget, KVF reports. No money has been set aside for the fund, but Niclasen says any available funds will go to it.

The fund was reduced to just under four million kroner this year, from five million in 2025. Next year, its allocation will instead be transferred to regular operations to finance existing positions.

Niclasen said next year’s priorities include emergency preparedness for childbirth and anaesthesia, cancer services, a rehabilitation pilot project in Suðuroy and carrier screening.

The Medical Association has warned about the lack of funding, noting that the fund has helped finance 19.5 specialist doctor positions since 2017. A 2024 report by the Ministry of Health recommended increasing the number of approved specialist positions in the hospital system from 68 to 121. Last year, Medical Association chairman Ragnar Djurhuus Hammer said the country was short of 50 specialists.

The fund is a dedicated budget allocation that can be used to hire specialists quickly without first finding other funding or securing a supplementary appropriation. A ministry working group recommended increasing the allocation in 2024, saying the scheme had worked well.