Only 23 Danish health workers sign up for Greenland relay scheme

A new scheme to bring Danish doctors and nurses to Greenland has attracted 23 full-time positions so far, far short of the need, DR reports.

The relay scheme was formally launched on 1 September to make it easier and more attractive for Danish health workers to take temporary jobs at Greenlandic hospitals.

Participants will be able to travel to Greenland for a limited period while remaining employed in Denmark. They will receive a salary under a Greenlandic collective agreement, a 15 per cent bonus and free accommodation, before returning to their Danish jobs.

According to Danish Regions, about one-third of the 23 positions are for doctors and two-thirds are for nurses.

That is well below the 40 positions previously assessed as necessary by Greenland’s healthcare system, and even further from the 100 positions it is seeking.

“All beginnings are difficult, including the relay agreement,” said Kjeld Møller Pedersen, professor emeritus of health economics and chair of Greenland’s Health Council. He stressed that the target of 100 agreements is uncertain because it is not based on experience.

He said the limited number of positions could be linked to difficulties persuading Danish hospitals to participate, but might also reflect opposition in Greenland. The project has been important to the leadership of Greenland’s healthcare system, he said.

Temporary workers fill up to half of positions

Greenland has so far relied heavily on private staffing agencies to recruit enough healthcare workers, but the model is expensive for the healthcare system.

A report from Greenland’s Health Council concluded last year that the system’s biggest weakness was “chronic staff shortages and far too many temporary workers”. Up to half of all doctor and nurse positions are currently filled by temporary or short-term workers.

The new relay scheme is an agreement between Greenlandic and Danish authorities intended to reduce reliance on temporary staffing.

Although it does not meet the full need, Health Minister Ida Auken said it was a good first step during a visit to Greenland this week.

“It is a very serious problem for Greenland. It is a very large country, and help is needed in all kinds of large and small towns. So, of course, we cannot solve the whole problem. But it is an important helping hand from Denmark,” Auken said.

Focus on partnership

The scheme has also raised questions about Denmark’s role, as responsibility for healthcare has been Greenlandic since 1992.

Auken said the agreement would benefit Denmark as well as Greenland. She said midwives from Herlev Hospital had told her they would return to Denmark with valuable experience.

“I think it is an incredibly good way for us to work together and help each other within the Realm,” she said.

Greenlandic nurses have criticised the scheme because special benefits and bonuses for Danish staff could make Greenlandic workers feel overlooked.

Auken said the issue was not her responsibility. “It was agreed by the parties in the labour market, so I will not go into it further,” she said.