In wealthy Norway, municipalities are having to cut back drastically. Belset care home in Bærum is now being closed down as part of the municipality’s reorganisation of care for the elderly and cost-cutting measures.

This means that 30 residents will have to move, including the blind Jan Kristian Halla (56), who is now experiencing having to move for the fourth time against his will since 1999.

Halla tells Budstikka that he feels at home in his apartment at Belset and is very sad to have to move after only two years as a resident. He and the other residents were notified of the closure in August last year.

The decision to close is a consequence of Bærum municipality’s decision to drastically cut the number of full-time care places in the coming years. By 2025, the municipality will reduce the number of places by more than 240 compared to last year.

The relocation of the residents from Belset started this week and will continue for the next two weeks. Jan Kristian Halla will move to a care apartment in Eiksveien. He expresses concern about having to adapt to new surroundings without sight.

Head of services at Belset care home, Anne Berit Johansen, describes the situation as very difficult for both residents and staff, and tells of much sadness related to the closure of a place with a good environment.

All 30 residents will be distributed among the five other municipal care homes in Bærum.

What will happen to the buildings and land at Belset after the residents have moved out has not yet been clarified.

As early as May, a further 46 residents will move from Gullhaug nursing home in Bærum, after Norlandia cancelled its operating agreement with the municipality.