Ullevaal University Hospital is the biggest hospital in Norway, and in fact one of the biggest in Northern Europe. At the moment it has more than 8.600 employees. 940 of them are doctors and 2400 nurses. With a total of 1.200 beds Ullevaal admits some 45.000 patients per year and its policlinics have about 400 000 consultations per year. The main hospital is located near the centre of the Norwegian capital Oslo, and has traditions going back to the late 1880´s.

Postal enquiries:
Ullevaal University Hospital
NO-0407 Oslo
Norway

E-mail: postmottak@uus.no

Location: Kirkeveien 166, Oslo

Telephone: +47 22 11 80 80

Key figures

Organisation: Ullevaal is organised in nine divisions:

• Emergency Division
• Division for Neuroscience and Musculoskeletal Medicine
• Cancer & Surgery Division
• Women & Children´s Division
• Medical Division
• Medical Services Division
• Pre-Hospital Division
• Psychiatric Division
• Hospital Support Centre

Each division is organised in departments and sections. The directors of the divisions are directly responsible to the Managing Director of Ullevaal University Hospital. They are responsible for their own personnel and accountable for their own budgets.

Funding
The hospital is funded directly by the Government through the annual National Budgets. An increasing amount of public resources are spent on the health sector. Norway spends annually 50 billion NOK (6 billion euro) on hospitals, making it one of the European countries with the highest level of public spending on health service per capita. Ten per cent of that amount is spent at Ullevaal University Hospital.

Ownership
Since January 1, 2002 the public hospitals in Norway have been owned by the central government following a decision made by the Norwegian parliament (the Storting). This hospital reform made an end to 30 years of county ownership. The reform was part of the Government´s objective of modernizing the public sector, based on the basic values of the welfare state: equality, justice and solidarity. According to the reform the hospitals were to be organised as enterprises, which meant that they became separate legal subjects and not integral parts of the central government administration. Principal health policy programmes are still given by the Government with the consent of the parliament.

One of the main consequences of the reform is that the hospitals will have more clearly defined roles and responsibilities They have the responsibility as employers and are responsible for their own finances, with the restriction that they may not go into voluntary liquidation. For a long time Norway has been divided into five health regions, today denominated as regional health enterprises. This principle of organisation was kept in the latest hospital reform. This organisation reflects the need of a modern specialised medicine to serve a sufficient number of patients to secure high-quality services to the public at an acceptable cost to society.

The regional health enterprises have statutory reponsibility for ensuring provision of health services to the inhabitants of the region and supervise that the running of the activities in the hospitals of the region take place in accordance with the policy objectives and financial framework laid down by the owner (government and parliament).

Brief history
When Ullevaal University Hospital was completed in 1887 it had a total capacity of 272 beds. It employed one consultant and two assistant doctors! The hospital was built during the confrontation between old beliefs regarding contagious diseases and modern microbiology. It was the epidemic diseases such as diphtheria, scarlet fever and tuberculosis that dominated the disease panorama the first years. The following ten years were marked by the enormous strides in medicine and, as a consequence, hectic building activity. It was with great foresight the hospital was allocated 360 000 m² in 1880.

Ullevaal University Hospital is the largest hospital in Norway with approximately 8.600 employees. The total budget for 2004 is aprox. 5,2 billion NOK. The hospital has a total of 1.200 beds and 45,000 patients are admitted per year. The hospitals out-patient clinics have aprox. 400,000 consultations per year. From January 1st. 2002 the National Health Reform changed hospital ownership.

Hospital functions
Ullevaal is the local hospital for certain parts of Oslo, with a population basis of 190.000 people. At the same time it is the regional hospital for the population of the counties of Oslo, Hedmark, Oppland, Akershus and Østfold, numbering 1.4 million people. As a heavy trauma centre it serves a population of 2.4 million. In its function as local hospital Ullevaal serves the entire city of Oslo in the fields of dermatology, neurology, infectious diseases, treatment of children, eye diseases, microbiology, blood bank and immunology. The Ambulance and AMC Department serves great parts of south-eastern Norway, with a special responsibility during crises and major accidents. Ullevaal also has the responsibility for psychiatry for two thirds of the 500.000 inhabitants in Oslo.

As a regional hospital Ullevaal serves the Eastern Health Region in the fields of oncology, medical genetics, neurosurgery, oral surgery, plastic surgery, gastrointestinal as well as thorax surgery and paediatric surgery. Ullevaal has a national function within plastic surgery in the eye area and treatment of congenital cataract. It also functions as a competence centre for cystic fibrose, senile dementia and spinal damage. Ullevaal furthermore treats badly injured patients from the whole area, and has a multiregional responsibility for diagnosing and treating patients with serious heart rhythm disturbances.

Research and education
Research and education As a university hospital Ullevaal participates in the education of most categories of medical personnel. It also has a special responsibility for research and professional development. There are 78 professorships associated with the hospital. Research Forum Ullevaal University Hospital (FUS) is an interdisciplinary forum that initiates research projects, disseminates information about research performed elsewhere, assists in the funding of projects and promotes the medical competence of Ullevaal.

For further information please contact: Andreas Moan, Director of Science & Education

Tel.: +47 23 01 68 82 

E- mail: andreas.moan@uus.no

You will find more information about research (in english) on the web-site of The Institute for Experimental Medical Research, IEMR

Visit the web-site on research on heartfailure

Welcome to Oslo and Ullevaal
Ullevaal University Hospital is located in the capital of Norway, Oslo. The capital celebrated its millennium in the year 2000. We find traces of habitation dating back to 700 AD in the uppermost regions of Oslofjorden. This tiny community grew rapidly throughout the Viking era. Farming, trade and shipbuilding were important commercially. Around the year 1000 Oslo had emerged as a city. The reason for the city development can be found in its location in the centre of a fertile area in the Eastern part of Norway, the excellent harbour and the emergence of royal and clerical power.

Oslo became the capital of Norway in the year 1294. During the 1600 -1700 period, city development was based on trading, particularly timber both at home and abroad. After the city was destroyed by fire in 1624, it was moved behind Akershus fortress and renamed Christiania, after king Christian IV of Denmark-Norway.

The population continued to grow steadily and expanded rapidly after 1814, when the city again became the capital of Norway and Norway became united with Sweden. This union lasted until 1905 when Norway became an independent kingdom. Today the capital of Norway has more than 500,000 citizens. Oslo is well known for its beautiful location on the shore of the Oslofjord. Within the city limits, Oslo has 40 islands and 343 lakes offering a wide selection of outdoor and recreation activities. Oslo is a skiing eldorado with more than 2000 km prepared tracks for cross country skiing and several alpine ski lifts. Being the capital, Oslo can offer several theatres, opera, museums and art exhibits. Statistically Oslo is the sunniest capital in Scandinavia.

Postal enquiries:

Ullevaal University Hospital
NO-0407 Oslo
Norway

Location: Kirkeveien 166, Oslo