Sørlandet hospital director must resign, says medical editor

The director of Sørlandet Hospital must step down after repeated patient safety failures, according to Martin Gray, editor of Dagens Medisin, Norway’s leading independent health sector publication.

Gray told public broadcaster NRK that patients in the Agder region “cannot possibly trust undergoing surgery” while Nina Mevold remains in her post. The call follows a damning report by Norway’s National Board of Health Supervision, which found “unjustifiable” leadership failures at the hospital’s gastroenterology unit in Arendal, including chronic understaffing, inadequate specialist training, and a failure to learn from past scandals.

The report states that hospital management—both locally and at the corporate level—has long been aware of high-risk conditions but failed to implement lasting improvements. It also highlights that many of the same systemic issues identified in the 2018 Flekkefjord surgery scandal persist today.

“Patients have died,” Gray said. “How can they trust their surgeon’s competence when leadership repeatedly prioritises other concerns?”

The Board of Health has demanded a binding improvement plan to ensure lawful and safe patient care. Hospital communications director Signy Svendsen confirmed that Mevold will address the findings after a meeting with regulators on Monday.

Mevold, who has led Sørlandet Hospital since 2018, has previously resisted calls to resign, arguing that she takes responsibility by remaining in her role.

Source: NRK Sørlandet