Little Hospital says it will add services, not undermine public care

The Little Hospital, due to open in the first half of next year, has received an overwhelmingly positive response and will add to existing services rather than undermine them, its chief executive, doctor Guðrún Ása Björnsdóttir, told mbl.is.

“There is social agreement that certain basic services should be in the hands of the state. That is one of the foundations of our welfare society, and no one is attacking it,” she said. “But that does not mean there is no room for anything else. To be clear, the Little Hospital is not undermining anything; it is adding services.”

Whether the state will pay for those services is a separate matter, Björnsdóttir said. The hospital has applied to Icelandic Health Insurance for state reimbursement for a minor injuries unit, following the required administrative process. The application is being considered, so she said it would be unwise to comment further.

A longer interview with Björnsdóttir appears in Morgunblaðið’s Sunday edition.