Hospital director says new addiction treatment needs funding

The Faroe Islands’ hospital service will need additional funding if it is to take on new responsibilities for substance-use and withdrawal treatment, its director, Per Busk, told KVF.

Health Minister Eyðdis Hartmann Niclasen has asked the hospital service to outline how such treatment could be organised within its existing framework. The request comes as the service has also been told to save 6.8 million kroner next year.

The hospital service has until Friday, November 6, to submit its outline. Busk welcomed the plan but said that new responsibilities require more funding.

A new working group is also examining how substance-use treatment should be organised and is due to make recommendations by July next year. The Faroe Islands adopted a comprehensive plan in 2022 with 58 recommendations to prevent and reduce substance misuse.