More than 50 children have waited longer than the law requires for urgent heart surgery.
Situation The operating queues at the new children’s hospital have become so critical that the Helsinki and Uusimaa Hospital District (Hus) has reported itself to the regional administrative agency and Valvira and requested help from the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health.
117 children are currently waiting for heart surgery, while normally the number is approximately 50–60 children. Of those waiting in line, 51 children have been waiting for more than 180 days. So they have not been able to receive treatment within the time specified by the treatment guarantee, even though their need for treatment has been assessed as quite urgent.
Hus’ branch director of children’s and young people’s diseases Jari Petäjä assesses that the situation of access to intensive care for children is critical.
The main explanation for surgery queues is the lack of staff in the intensive care units. When the places cannot be kept open enough with the power, not enough cuts can be made.
Read more: “This is playing with his life” – Children’s intensive care went into crisis in Helsinki, 10-year-old Jesse’s urgent open-heart surgery was postponed several times
On the other hand, according to Husi’s calculations, the difference between the normal situation and the current crisis would be quite small. Petäjä calculates that there are only 3–5 heavy intensive care places. In practice, this means the work input of about 20–25 nurses, but of course it is about professionals specialized in demanding work.
A national working group consisting of experts has been appointed to resolve the situation. The working group must hand over its report by the end of the year, and after that the aim is to act as quickly as possible as the working group suggests.
The new children’s hospital takes care of the most demanding and rarest children’s diseases in the whole of Finland. For example, it handles organ transplants for children.
That is why the surgery queues at the children’s hospital affect children all over Finland. An estimated one-third of those who need intensive care come from Uusimaa, the rest from other hospital districts.
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