Many Finns are still waiting for treatment longer than the law would allow. HS is looking for interviews for patients whose treatment has been postponed or canceled this spring.
23.4. 17:48
Over the queue for half a year of waiting for specialist care in February was three times as long as just before the corona epidemic began.
The care of coronary patients has required a large number of nursing staff, and staff sick leave has exacerbated staff shortages in both hospitals and health centers across the country. In the Helsinki and Uusimaa hospital districts, for example, eye and artificial joint surgeries and other non-urgent surgeries have often been the first to be transferred during the corona epidemic.
During the care strike, non-urgent care had to be practically pushed down in the hospital districts covered by the strike.
For treatment access deadlines are recorded in the Health Care Act.
According to it, access to treatment in primary health care must be provided no later than three months and in special care no later than six months after the need for treatment has been established.
During the corona epidemic, it has been possible to deviate from the deadlines for emergency treatment from time to time by means of the Emergency Preparedness Act. The section allowing emergency derogations from the deadlines for emergency care has been in use twice during the corona epidemic: in the spring of 2020 and for the second time in the spring of 2021.
Although the emergency law has not been in use for almost a year, many Finns are still waiting for treatment for longer than the law would allow. At the end of February, almost 10,000 Finns had been waiting for access to specialist care for longer than the six months allowed by law. Before the epidemic, in December 2019, there were far fewer people waiting for treatment for more than six months in specialist care, about 3,000.
Is there your treatment delayed this spring? Have you waited for access to surgery or any other procedure beyond the time allowed by law, or has the agreed procedure been revoked or postponed several times? HS gathers experiences from readers for the current story. Tell us about your experience by answering the survey below.
We will not publish your name without your permission. However, please include your real name and contact information. HS does not cite interviewees whose personal information is not known to the editors.
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