Staffing shortages have caused the temporary closure of 120 health centres across Finland, affecting nearly every wellbeing service county, according to a Yle survey. The most common reason stated for these closures is a lack of staff.
Three years ago, summer closures of health centres due to staff shortages was first observed in Finland. At that time, six health centres in North Karelia were temporarily closed when no workforce could be found during the holiday season. There were no other closures due to staff shortages that year, according to the Union of Health and Social Care Professionals in Finland (Tehy).
Yle's survey shows that this phenomenon has now increased up to 20-fold.
Many welfare regions cited staff annual leave as a significant reason for summer closures. However, not all regions provided details on why replacement staff were not hired.
The new normal
Staffing shortages have significantly worsened in recent years, particularly in North Savo, where 16 health centres are closed this summer, mainly due to a lack of personnel.
"Especially in small localities, substitute staff is simply not available. That's why we didn't even open up all the substitute vacancies this summer," said Ritva Vitri, head of the service unit at the North Savo welfare region.
Susanna Iivonen, a nurse at the Kaavi Health Centre in North Savo, finds the situation unfortunate. She says people are getting used to the shortage of substitutes because there is no alternative.
"There has been a shortage of doctors before, but now nurses are also hard to find. This is now the new normal," said Iivonen.
Thousands of jobs available
The healthcare workforce shortage is a significant issue, according to Juho Ruskoaho, Chief Economist at the Local Government and County Employers KT, a lobby group for local and municipal authorities.
He noted that there are job opportunities for thousands of nurses and doctors across Finland.
KT suggests addressing the problem by increasing the number of training positions in the sector and promoting work-based immigration.
"Strong measures are needed. Additionally, the legal obligations of healthcare providers should be reviewed to ensure that the labour of trained professionals is used effectively," Ruskoaho said.
Silja Paavola, Chair of the Finnish Union of Practical Nurses (SuPer) attributes the nursing shortage to low wages and heavy workloads in the field.
"Improving the job description and work management are the main ways to solve the shortage. Hopefully, the complaints about the lack of funding for wellbeing counties will also stop, as the issue is really about how the money is used," Paavola said.
Yle reached out to all wellbeing services counties in mainland Finland and the City of Helsinki regarding the number of health centres closed this summer and the reasons for the closures. Most responses were obtained via email from regional health centre managers, while data from North Karelia were collected by phone.
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