Finland is a civilized state with a high standard of living in the minds of Central Europeans. Lived in Belgium for a long time Heli Shoemaker he himself thought about his old homeland, but he doesn't know what to think anymore.
Autumn vacation in Finland became a dark experience when Ilona's daughter fell ill and ended up in Oulu University Hospital (Oys) for almost two weeks.
The Belgian-Finnish family's sky of pain began at the grandmother in Liminga, where her daughter Ilona, who was suffering from severe abdominal pain and a high fever, had to be taken to the emergency room.
While waiting on the bed of the emergency room, rolled next to other patients, Suutari established the first cold facts in favor of Belgium. The mother, who was an escort in Oys' emergency room, was not looked down upon, but was reminded that the 16-year-old should manage on her own.
The autumn landscape was gray from the window of Oulu University Hospital.
“Our emergency room experiences in Belgium are different. Pököttam was cleverly sent to his own room, and in Belgium no one is forced to be alone in the middle of a crisis, but an escort is allowed to come along without any further pleas.”
The patient, who could barely stand, was sent home in the morning with instructions to rest and take painkillers. When her condition soon collapsed, the mother called an ambulance. When it arrived, the exam began. One of the paramedics questioned the order and demanded to know why they didn't go to the hospital in their own car.
“My daughter couldn't sit up and I asked if this was a joke. It wasn't, but this is how we were told to act, because it's the savings.”
After two nights of watching and waiting Ilona Audrit was finally taken from the emergency room to the bed ward and mother also got a chair to sit on.
Helsingin Sanomat has seen the patient reports related to the situation.
The stay in the abdominal ward became long.
Cobbler lives with his family in Liegé, Belgium, which is in many ways similar to Oulu, an ordinary city of about 200,000 inhabitants with many social problems.
Suutari, who works as a therapist, says she dreams of moving to Finland, but now the thought of returning feels unsafe.
There are many times more hospitals in Liège than in Oulu, as well as beds. Harley Street employ often themselves, compete with each other and the most important thing for them is to maintain a good reputation.
“You can get treatment right away without having to beg and wait in line. Appointments are also arranged for Saturdays and the treatment is of high quality.”
Heli Suutari (left) has lived in Belgium for a long time. He was photographed with his daughter Ilona Audrit in the family's backyard in Liége at the end of January.
Belgium is a prosperous western country. Many things in public services still work there, which, according to Suutari, can be seen, for example, in schools, which are often in a mold and where school books are never available. The road network is also in poor condition in some places.
However, according to him, health care works in a model way. There is no division into public and private healthcare. All patients come to the same door – although you can pay a little extra to the local Kela and get additional benefits if you want.
The shoemaker has not paid and yet he has always received good care without delays. The expenses have been reasonable, the same level as in Finland's public health care.
“Finland is not poor, so it is not a question of money. The model of the use of power, in which seeing a doctor is a luxury that you have to humbly beg for and wait for, has outlived its time.”
With joy Audrit's diagnosis was not found out and treatment was not started, even though days passed. The pain was treated with strong opiates without asking the parents. The condition worsened and the patient suffered from breathing problems and swelling. The weight increased by more than ten kilograms, although the patient did not eat anything.
Ilona Audrit's treatment dragged on, and no definite diagnosis was found.
The whole time Suatari had the feeling that no one was listening.
“Is it intended that we only talk to the walls and politely expect that the experts will end up making observations themselves? If the patient is not listened to, a feeling of insecurity follows.”
According to Suutari, things started to happen at the hospital only when the father of the family arrived in Oulu and the patient's transfer to Belgium was brought up. Ilona Audriti began to be prepared for the operating room.
Acute peritonitis, possibly caused by pneumococcal bacteria, was thought to be the cause. In Suutari's opinion, taking care of it should have started right away.
“The experience was quite unnecessarily traumatizing,” says Suutari.
During the surgery, the abdominal cavity was cleaned and fluid was removed, which helped in part. The breathing difficulties still continued unchanged after the procedure. The symptoms were eventually treated by removing fluid from the lungs.
A new university hospital is about to be completed in Oulu. The current hospital is from the 1970s.
For the shoemaker and his spouse, the greatest helplessness was caused by the fact that their daughter did not know a single responsible doctor. Apparently there was, but they weren't told about it. The new doctors who were still doing their rounds quickly were not always up to date with the situation.
“It was always argued that doctors don't have time. In the emergency room and in the ward, you had to worry endlessly about whether the doctor would come to see you and when. Knowledge is power, and it should not be pawned in treatment situations.”
After the lung puncture, Audrit's condition started to improve a little and the family started organizing a return trip home to Belgium.
After the plane landed, Suutari sighed with relief. He immediately sent a text message to make an appointment with the family doctor, who offered an appointment for the next day.
“He wrote the referrals for blood tests and at the same time we called the nearby hospital to make appointments for the specialists he recommended. Not once did I have to beg and worry about whether I would be able to see a doctor. The whole idea of having to be afraid of being able to see a doctor started to appear as a way to humiliate people.”
The entire hospital period, with its pain and fear, left a mark on his 16-year-old youth, which is still visible in the form of insomnia and nightmares.
A shoemaker cannot help but compare the treatment of a healthcare client in his old and new home country. In Belgium, according to Suutari's experiences, a doctor is “an ordinary professional who offers a service”. Suutari felt that, on the other hand, there is room for a big change in the spiritual atmosphere of nursing in Finland.
“The poor quality of treatment is not only due to a lack of money, but also due to a postural disability. They talk about reforms, but maybe they don't want to serve and help the patient,” he says.
Heli Suutari (left) has dreamed of moving back to Finland, but the quality of medical care has started to worry him.
The shoemaker filed a care error report about her daughter's care, to which Oys has responded. According to the hospital, there was no actual treatment error, but there were possibly some delays in starting the procedures.
HS asked about the hospital's procedure regarding escorts. Is it the case that a 16-year-old shouldn't have an escort?
“In this situation, we have acted contrary to our instructions,” replied the manager of the Oys emergency center Matti Martikainen and apologized for what happened.
“According to our instructions, it is permissible for a relative to be with the patient for child patients or patients who otherwise express themselves poorly or who otherwise poorly understand treatment decisions.”
Due to the narrowness of the emergency room, visits are limited for others.
Oys also has its own instructions for getting an ambulance. The director of primary care Mirja Annalan according to the first aid, the task is to choose an appropriate mode of transport. Thus, according to Annala, the nurses may have suggested transferring to the emergency room with their own ride.
“I hope the treatment has been appropriate and the goal is to make treatment decisions in agreement with the patient and his relatives. The emergency department regrets the treatment experienced by the patient and his family,” says Annala.
After about two weeks of treatment, the journey back home began.
Oys also assures that each bed ward has its own responsible doctor. According to the hospital, the constant flow of changing doctors is due to the fact that specialist doctors and doctors specializing in the wards are placed in the wards, whose placement in the ward can vary from one day to a few weeks.
The shoemaker is saddened by the experience.
“Perhaps extending the service culture to healthcare is too much to ask of an old dog who doesn't want to learn new tricks. It's easy to hide behind a lack of resources.”
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