Norwegian regional health authorities spent close to one billion kroner on consultants during the first ten months of the year. The total consultant bill reached 972 million kroner according to newly released figures. This amount represents less than half a percent of the total health budget allocated by the government.
Health Trust West recorded the highest consultant spending at nearly 330 million kroner. Health Trust North had the lowest consultant expenses at 193 million kroner. The data covers four regional health enterprises, regional hospitals, and two IT companies from western and central Norway.
Last year's total consultant spending ended just below 1.3 billion kroner. With two months remaining in the current year, it remains unclear whether the final amount will exceed or fall short of last year's figure. The government allocated approximately 228 billion kroner to regional health enterprises in this year's national budget.
Finnmark Hospital did not respond to the data request by the deadline and was excluded from the overview. The substantial consultant expenditures raise questions about resource allocation in Norway's public healthcare system. Public health services continue to face budget pressures while maintaining service quality.
What drives such high consultant costs in Norway's healthcare system? The numbers suggest health trusts rely heavily on external expertise despite substantial public funding. This spending pattern occurs as many Norwegians report long waiting times for medical treatments.