Staff shortages left Miðvágur ambulance unstaffed for 30 days

Staffing the ambulance in Miðvágur has proved so difficult that it was left without a crew for 30 days last year, Kringvarp Føroya reports.

The ambulance is meant to have two staff members. On 16 days, only one person was available.

Health Minister Eyðdis Hartmann Niclasen provided the figures in response to parliamentarian Jóhannis Joensen. She said the challenges had been particularly serious over the past six months.

One reason for the shortage is stricter training requirements. Emergency medical transport personnel in the Faroe Islands are trained in Denmark through a programme lasting 18 months. Other staff must cover the shifts of those attending the programme.

Niclasen said work was continuing to train more emergency medical transport personnel. According to hospital management, the situation is expected to improve over the next six months.

The minister also pointed to an old principle in the collective agreement for the sector: people expected to take shifts must live in the local area. This makes it difficult to recruit people from outside the area to work shifts in Vágar.