Healthcare It was not known at STM that it could take several months for a student to get medical time from FSHS - “There has been no information that the situation is so bad”

In Kela’s view, the root cause of FSHS’s access to care is recruitment problems. “More healthcare professionals should be brought to the labor market,” says designer Erika Juutinen from Kela.

SocialIt was not known in the Ministry of Education and Health (STM) that students at the Student Health Care Foundation (FSHS) can take several months to get medical time.

“We have not had any information that the situation is so bad,” says the consulting official Arja Ruponen From STM.

Student Julia Sangervo told HS on Friday that he would have received a 20-minute GP from FSHS no earlier than the fall, four months from now.

Read more: Student Julia Sangervo called FSHS and was told that the first free time for medical care would be next autumn at the earliest – Chief Physician: “We cannot hide behind the explanation that there are no times”

FSHS’s resources are insufficient to meet current demand, said the chief medical officer Päivi Metsäniemi To HS on Friday.

According to Metsäniemi, the need for additional resources, congestion and crisis in services have been known to STM and Kela. Kela is told that they are well aware of this.

“We have also reported this problem to STM and are working closely with FSHS,” says the designer. Erika Juutinen.

However, the four-month queue is an isolated case, says the head of the competence center Reija Jääskeläinen.

On average, the FSHS has to wait 1-2 months for mental health, for example. The care guarantee is three months.

Peak FSHS started as early as January 2021, when more than 140,000 polytechnic students switched to services. It doubled the number of people covered by the FSHS.

According to STM’s Ruponen, appropriate additional funding had been set aside for the reform. He adds that funding was scaled as well as possible based on the number of students known and the cost per student. The funding opened new offices and recruited new professionals.

According to Metsäniemi, the FSHS is congested, especially during the corona epidemic, by a doubling of demand for mental health services. Ruponen also highlights the impact of the corona epidemic.

“Mental health symptoms and the need for help have risen particularly sharply.”

Due to the epidemic, FSHS has received additional funding to strengthen mental health services, Ruponen says.

“Five million euros was distributed last year and this year,” he says.

“They have spent money on expanding services, but not that [ongelmien korjaaminen] all at the touch of a finger. ”

According to Kela, the funding base of the FSHS is also in good shape.

Two-thirds of the funding comes from the state and a third is collected from students in health care fees. According to Jääskeläinen, there is no desire to increase the proportion of students.

“At some point, one might wonder if the funding model makes sense. Perhaps the state could fully fund the operation. Although the majority of students handle the payment on time, some have difficulties and collecting the fee also produces work for Kela. ”

As a problem According to Ruponen, it is not funding but recruitment problems.

“The provision of the service is the responsibility of the FSHS and they are responsible for ensuring that the services are as they should be. If there are problems with funding, of course it will be considered. But when it comes to recruitment issues, we can’t recruit staff at the ministry. ”

In Kela’s view, the root cause of problems in accessing care is recruitment problems. However, it is not a question of the FSHS not trying to recruit more people.

“Healthcare professionals should get more into the job market. It’s a bigger thing to change, ”says Juutinen.