According to a survey of hospitals carried out by YLE, at least six hospital districts plan to shut down more wards than last summer. These districts serve about half of the population of Finland.
Kari Nenonen, CEO of the Hospital District of Helsinki and Uusimaa, says that this year's closures will be more extensive than usual because of the economic challenges and labour shortage. He said this should not impact patient care, but may have knock-on effects for the basic health care system.
And as always, summer means more stress and long working days, especially for nurses who are not on vacation.