Elderly care and care staff resources
In the West Uusimaa wellbeing services county, elderly care needs significant and immediate improvements. The current situation, where nurses work in constant haste and with scarce resources, does not reflect our society’s values or the dignified treatment of patients. In practice, the staffing ratio for 24/7 care must be implemented as seven nurses per ten people receiving care, and not merely as an entry on paper. This way we ensure that care is not based only on stopwatch-timed performances, but on genuinely individual encounters.
Get home care resources in order
Home care must be increased, but resources must be realistic, and home care must not become a cost-cutting measure where costs are merely shifted from one place to another. Home care must genuinely serve the interests of the elderly, be safe, and be adequately resourced. The quality of meal services provided in home care is also an important part of dignified treatment – it is completely unsustainable that, for example, the food served in prisons can be of higher quality than in nursing homes or within home care meal services.
Restoring maternity services to Lohja Hospital
The discontinuation of maternity services at Lohja Hospital has been a significant mistake that endangers patient safety in critical situations. Moving births to other hospitals increases travel times and can place families in unnecessary danger. Savings cannot be a justification for decisions concerning human lives. It is important to listen to local residents and healthcare professionals in decision-making so that services correspond to the region’s real needs.
Savings by optimizing administration
The financial challenges of wellbeing services counties must be solved by cutting overlapping administrative structures and optimizing the duties and salaries of middle management and top management. Savings targeted at operational staff directly weaken residents’ everyday life and safety and are not a sustainable solution. Decision-making must be based on residents’ genuine needs and practicality, not ideology or bureaucracy.
Source: Uusi Suomi
Markku Arvekari
Digital Transformation Expert
