Some hospital authorities circumvent a statutory treatment guarantee by altering age limits, reports the newspaper Helsingin Sanomat. Ten different age limits now exist in Finland to determine who may receive juvenile psychiatric open care.
Under current regulations, young people must be able to receive metal health care within three months. The time limit for adults is six months. Current lower age limits vary from 13 to 16 years while upper age limits stretch from 17 to 23 years of age.
The Senior Psychiatrist of the Student Health Care Foundation, Kari Pylkkänen wants a national standard limit. He says 18-year-olds have fallen through the system. A recommendation drawn up by Pylkkänen proposes that juvenile open care be available from ages between 13 and 22 years.