Amnesty International: Finland’s public healthcare system not keeping promise

According to a report published by Amnesty International, people relying on public healthcare in Finland do not get value for their tax payments, causing trust in the welfare society to erode.

According to the report, behind the phenomenon is a long-time trend as various governments since the 1990s have cut and unfunded public services, even when funding has been temporarily increased. As a result, public healthcare suffers a chronic lack of resources and workforce and waiting times for receiving care have become too long, states Amnesty.

”I have no trust in healthcare, and neither has any other loser. People do not want to go to health centres even if their backs are broken. They rather die than wait for months to see a doctor,” a 40-year-old unemployed person who wished to remain anonymous said in the report.

Inequality also widens since part of the population has access to occupational healthcare while others depend on public services. For some, digitalisation means improvement, but that cannot solve all problems as not everyone can access digital devices.

Specifically mentioned in the report were problems in sexual and reproductive health services, dental care and mental health services, as well as differences in prices and costs.

The report’s findings were largely approved by healthcare professionals. In the YLE interview, Liina-Kaisa Tynkkynen from the National Institute for Health and Welfare admitted that access to gynaecological services is weak in the public sector, and some health centres lack the right equipment or skills to diagnose and treat gynaecological problems.

Dental care has also been offered to adults by the public sector from the beginning of the millennium. However, Amnesty reported that the promise has not been kept, and around half of adults are forced to turn to the private sector to receive treatment.

Making the report topical is its timing. The new Finnish government is about to announce its programme in the coming days, and the rumours are promising cuts in public services.

(Pekka Vänttinen | EURACTIV.com)