Do you live in the capital region? Then, according to the S-party candidate, you should adjust to a lower service level in healthcare.

Region Hovedstaden and Region Sjælland merging aims to address unequal doctor coverage. Longer waiting times in the capital may be expected, says Social Democrat Lars Gaardhøj in Deadline.

Lars Gaardhøj in Deadline. 47 min. ago

Patients in the capital region may very well face longer waiting times.

This was confirmed by Social Democrat party's candidate in Deadline, who was asked directly whether residents in the capital region should expect a lower service level in solidarity with the current Region Sjælland.

- Yes, it is unfortunately necessary to be honest about that.

- It is something that really bothers me, that where people are most ill, yes, that is where there are the fewest doctors. And where people are the healthiest, that is where there are the most doctors. That doesn't make sense.

Gaardhøj is currently the chairman of Region Hovedstaden. After the regional council election on November 18, he hopes to lead the new large region, Østdanmark, where Region Hovedstaden and Region Sjælland will be merged.

In the spring, Gaardhøj was involved in introducing a qualified hiring stop for specialists (https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/seneste/region-hovedstaden-indfoerer-ansaettelsesstop-speciallaeger) to help out the underserved areas on Sjælland.

- We are forced to do it because the differences have become so large, and we cannot live with it. It is unacceptable. Therefore, we are sometimes forced to make a somewhat square move like a hiring stop.

Gaardhøj emphasizes that in the long run, more doctors will be trained. At the same time, the regions are working on cutting unnecessary control to free up resources:

- It is not a zero-sum game where we just move things around. We can also win something by doing things in a smarter way.

See the entire segment with Lars Gaardhøj in debate with the Danish Democrat's candidate for the Region Østdanmark, Brian Mørch, in Deadline on DRTV. (https://www.dr.dk/drtv/se/deadline_-er-der-en-laege-til-stede_557238)

News and Aktuality Deadline (https://www.dr.dk/drtv/serie/deadline_7111)

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