SÁÁ staff say they will return if board chair steps down
Wednesday 30th September 2026 on 10:31 in
Iceland
Most SÁÁ employees who have resigned or are on sick leave would return if board chair Anna Hildur Guðmundsdóttir stepped down, staff said at a meeting with the organisation’s executive management, according to an unnamed source cited by Morgunblaðið.
The source also corrected a previous report that Vogur hospital was operating at half capacity. In fact, 14 patients are admitted out of 45 available beds, and numbers are expected to fall further over the weekend because patients will be discharged but no new admissions are planned. The newspaper said its earlier information about admissions came from the board chair.
The meeting was the board’s first with staff since disputes began in early August. The board had stipulated that only staff spokespeople could attend, so just three employees took part. Staff said that if Guðmundsdóttir resigned, four doctors and professional managers would return to work the next day. They also intend to maintain their no-confidence declaration against her.
Health Minister Alma Möller said she is closely monitoring the situation through the Directorate of Health and Icelandic Health Insurance. She has also met Vogur’s new director and the chair and deputy chair of SÁÁ’s executive board.
Möller said an agreement had been reached to establish professional management of healthcare services at Vogur. Icelandic Health Insurance will soon meet SÁÁ representatives to discuss the arrangement. The Directorate of Health and Icelandic Health Insurance are handling the matter on behalf of the government.
The government has also asked Landspítali hospital to help provide doctors. Möller said the hospital had responded positively and that discussions were under way between its representatives and SÁÁ’s new director.
Asked whether the dispute could be resolved without the executive board or the hospital’s senior management and doctors stepping down, Möller said it had to be resolved, given the importance of the service to those who rely on it.