Reader’s Opinion | Medical helicopter operations are being increased uncritically

In welfare areas cut and centralize basic services to save hundreds of millions of euros. Even primary care emergency rooms are not spared from surgery. However, one part of health care will not be affected by any savings: medical helicopter operations.

The medical helicopter operation was once established with the help of support associations, and the associations obtained part of the funding for the operation through collection activities. An important part of the collection activity was to get the general public to understand that without medical helicopters, people would move to the mana huts in droves. This message also started to be spread by many politicians in order to collect cheap loose points for their own support. As a continuation of this effective lobbying, we have Finnhems, which manages medical helicopter operations, and about eight medical helicopters.

I don’t questioning the operation of medical helicopters and paramedics, but increasing the operation without criticism. In Finland, emergency physicians also work with only ground units, i.e. cars, in several locations. A considerable part of the tasks of helicopter doctors are also performed with the help of cars. In the period between October and February, during the dark hours, there are many flight obstacles due to weather conditions. Understandably, this is not actively communicated publicly. The unit of one on-call emergency doctor who moves only by car costs about a quarter of the cost of operating one helicopter base.

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Investing in one thing can be off-putting to other patients.

It is also very important to understand that the core of emergency care in Finland is made up of treatment level and basic level units equipped with paramedics, i.e. ambulances. These are almost always with the patient before medical helicopters, even in urgent tasks. Having once been involved in the operation, I do not deny that helicopters do not save lives. However, this number is small compared to the overall operation and the number of patients. An assessment independent of Finnhems and the doctors involved in the operation is conspicuous in Finland by its absence.

A problem it wouldn’t be if there was unlimited money. However, when, for example, Kouvola’s primary care emergency room is being reduced and at the same time a medical helicopter base is being built in the area, the situation is downright grim. I can say that with my own 35 years of experience in acute care. The millions that are saved from primary care emergency services are blamed on Finnhems’ kannkula well.

Amid the pressure to save, the effectiveness of treatments is being highlighted even more, as it should be. This should also apply to medical helicopter operations. Investing in one thing can be off-putting to other patients. From a recently deceased healthcare influencer Martti from Kekomäki it was sometimes asked if health has a price. Kekomäki answered: another person’s health.

Heikki Laine

senior anesthesiologist, Mikkeli

The reader’s opinions are speeches written by HS readers, which are selected and delivered by the HS editors. You can leave an opinion piece or familiarize yourself with the principles of writing at the address www.hs.fi/kiryotamielipidekeisuis/.