Editorial|A Helsingin Sanomat survey aimed at ward nurses showed that the problems of care for the elderly do not only complicate the situation of the elderly, but radiate throughout health care.
SA new picture of the barren state of Uomen’s health care was obtained when Helsingin Sanomat asked the views of hundreds of ward nurses (HS 9.6.). There were more than 600 respondents, 80 percent of whom said that healthcare had drifted into a crisis.
Although the shortage of nurses came up again in the answers, the most significant observation was that the problems of care for the elderly do not only complicate the situation of the elderly, but radiate throughout healthcare. This can be seen both in primary care and in special care departments in hospitals.
When care for the elderly does not work, the elderly end up in the emergency room. At that point, they are often so unwell that the emergency room has to send them to hospital. Then the elderly randomly end up in a special medical care department where they fit, even though effective treatment for ailments could be given in primary health care. In special care departments, the elderly are often mostly confined, and they do not receive, for example, treatment related to memory disorders. At the same time, they take the most expensive treatment places, which slows down others’ access to treatment.
In Finland, you can get excellent world-class treatment for acute emergencies and life-threatening ailments. This was also the opinion of the ward managers who responded to the survey. The rest, however, is slowly compromised, they described.
It seems that the situation cannot be corrected. There are several reasons. One explanation is the siloing of expenses. When saving on health care, for example, you don’t see what kind of expenses or loss of income extended sick leaves due to queues cause for society as a whole. Savings on the cheapest treatment make expensive treatment even more expensive.
It is clear that Finnish healthcare is in crisis. It’s not a surprise: when creating the current social security model, too many interests other than taking care of Finns were taken into account. There is no more time to wonder.
The editorials are HS’s positions on a current topic. The articles are prepared by HS editorial staff, and they reflect the journal principle line.
#Editorial #elderly #care #crisis #addressed #cripples #entire #healthcare #system
