The Standing Committee on Health and Care Services is considering a private member's bill from Kjersti Toppe and Bengt Fasteraune calling for a major expansion of work-oriented rehabilitation. The committee is asking the government to establish more residential places, develop national quality standards, pilot direct referrals from the employment service, and present an action plan by 2027. The proposers argue that one in five working-age people are out of work due to health-related reasons, and that work-oriented rehabilitation has proven results.
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These are the proposals in the document, not decisions. See the votes for the outcome.
The Storting asks the government to base its work on the comprehensive professional review of the overall rehabilitation and habilitation services, as well as projections of needs for both municipal and specialist health services through 2040, and to return to the Storting by 2027 with a concrete action plan for rehabilitation, including work-oriented rehabilitation. The plan should assess the need for additional residential places, with the goal of ensuring all patients who need it receive equal access to rehabilitation and habilitation services across the country.
The Storting asks the government to significantly expand the number of residential places in work-oriented rehabilitation, including for young people, and to report annually to the Storting on progress.
The Storting asks the government to ensure that national standards and quality requirements for work-oriented rehabilitation are developed by the National Competence Centre for Work-Oriented Rehabilitation.
The Storting asks the government to pilot a scheme allowing direct referrals to work-oriented rehabilitation from the employment service.
The Storting asks the government to present a joint strategy for rehabilitation service agreements with national scope, and to ensure that MS patients throughout the country continue to have access to interdisciplinary specialized rehabilitation at the MS Centre in Hakadal.
The Storting asks the government to immediately instruct the South-Eastern and Central Norwegian health authorities to cancel the procurement process for rehabilitation services and continue current agreements until a long-term framework is established that defines quality requirements for different types of rehabilitation.
The Storting asks the government to protect work-oriented rehabilitation from competitive tendering, and to ensure that existing non-profit professional environments receive extended contracts based on quality.