Reader opinion A smarter division of labor would improve access to primary health care services

Opinion|Reader’s opinion

Shortage of nurses worsens in Finland. At the same time, the government has prepared a proposal to tighten the guarantee for primary health care. The aim is to improve the availability of basic services in the social centers of the future.

However, the government’s proposal in the opinion restricts the activities of health care professionals protected by the title (community nurse) in primary health care with regard to the assessment of the need for care. In such a workforce, the delineation of tasks is incomprehensible.

One option to ensure treatment is the doctor-nurse work pair model. Primary care physicians have supported this model because they feel there are plenty of side tasks in their daily lives that take up time from patient care.

Citizens’ physical and mental care needs have increased. All professionals, including doctors, need to collaborate with other professionals to streamline their work. The Finnish Association of Nurses and Primary Nurses has nominated nurses as a pair of doctors, because as social and health care professionals, nurses are able to work extensively in basic services.

Without underestimating the work of other health professionals, such as nurses and nurses, I think their training is partly wasted in assisting the doctor in tasks that are suitable for community nurses. These tasks include guiding and advising patients, assisting in procedures, reviewing medication information from the prescription center, and equipping workrooms. Many of these are jobs that are limited to those of healthcare professionals and are therefore not suitable for commercial training, for example.

Personnel structures affect the availability of timely and effective basic services, costs, and the adequacy of personnel. The degree in nursing has been regularly developed to meet the skills needs of working life.

When planning the operation of Sote centers, there is no sensible reason to make unnecessary restrictions on the job descriptions of community caregivers.

Silja Paavola

chairman

Finnish Association of Nurses and Primary Nurses

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