Health officials in Finland say they expect new cases of Covid to drop over the summer, but experts still worry about the capacity of hospitals to manage over the next few months.
The number of coronavirus patients in hospital has fallen recently, with fewer in intensive care than at any time since last summer.
HUS' Chief Medical Officer, Veli-Matti Ulander,told Yle that while Covid patients were unlikely to strain healthcare units over the summer, hospitals are likely to struggle for another reason — staff shortages.
Ulander said the whole country is suffering from healthcare personnel shortfalls, both in terms of permanent staff and temporary cover.
HUS, Finland's largest hospital district, said it will have fewer beds available this summer than last.
"The situation is exceptionally bad. We have 200 fewer patient spots now than last summer," Ulander told Yle.
The summer of 2021 was, however, also far from easy, according to HUS' top physician.
Longer waits
This means patients are having to wait longer for treatment.
"Non-urgent care is sometimes being postponed until the autumn," Ulander explained.
Experts have long warned of a looming shortage of healthcare workers in Finland. The country is expected to need to recruit around 30,000 more nurses by the year 2030 to meet the demands of an aging population.
Ulander meanwhile said the number of new recruits entering the sector do not make up for those retiring from it.
"The effects are visible throughout the healthcare chain — from elder care facilities to specialised healthcare," he explained
The coronavirus pandemic has also led to new jobs in healthcare, removing workers from their former duties.
Last month some 25,000 nurses went on strike for two weeks to protest pay and conditions. Nurses' unions later announced another healthcare strike encompassing 35,000 workers.
But the unions called off the second strike at the last minute after Minister for Family Affairs and Social Services Aki Lindén (SDP) introduced strike-breaking legislation which, if passed into law, would have forced nurses back to work under the auspices of patient safety.