Tabloid newspaper Iltalehti reported on Thursday that police have started a pre-trial investigation into healthcare service provider City Clinics Group, which provides cosmetic procedures such as breast augmentations, liposuction and laser treatments at City-Klinikka facilities in Helsinki and Turku .
According to Iltalehti, Valvira, the National Supervisory Authority for Welfare and Health, made a formal request to the police for an investigation as they suspect the City-Klinikka Turku clinic was carrying out cosmetic medical procedures before Valvira granted the required license in September 2017.
The paper reports that the group's Helsinki clinic had the correct permit to carry out private healthcare services.
Iltalehti contacted the clinic’s managing director Piotr Sikorski, and according to him the Turku clinic carried out minor surgical operations with the permission of the City’s senior physician before Valvira’s granting of the permit. Sikorski told the newspaper that he was under the impression that the city’s permission was sufficient in the interim while Valvira was processing the paperwork for the permission. He told the paper that it’s a misunderstanding regarding permissions.
”When I asked after the permit from Valvira, I received notice that operations/procedures cannot be carried out until the permit is granted. So we moved all of our minor surgical procedures to the Helsinki clinic until Valvira granted the permit (for the Turku clinic) in September 2017,” Sikorski told the newspaper.
Two years of pre-license procedures
Meanwhile, Iltalehti reported that according to former City-Klinikka publicist, Hanna Järvinen, dozens of unauthorised procedures were carried out including complex laser treatments, liposuction and eyelid lifts.
Iltalehti reported in July that Valvira had made a formal request for investigation to Southwestern police division and the Helsinki police.
According to lead investigation Commissioner Kirsi Kanth, the criminal investigation will look into all of the City Clinics Group’s operations. "At this point it looks as though there is evidence of unauthorised practice of healthcare procedures,” she told the newspaper.
According to former publicist Järvinen, the Turku clinic opened in 2015 and operated without permission. The Valvira decision dated 25 September 2017 granted the company permission to provide private healthcare services in Helsinki and Turku. The Helsinki office was authorised for day surgery at its outpatient clinic while the Turku office did not receive such a permit.
"It’s excellent that the situation is being looked into. We want to help the officials with this," Sikorksi told Iltalehti.