Social Wellbeing and Health Care System in Finland

During my stay here I’m learning so many things. I have a subject where we study and learn about the health care system in Finland, and I want to share with you some basic information about it. I think it can be useful to know the way of working of social and health systems here!

Social welfare and health care system

Social welfare and health care system in Finland is basically based on municipal social welfare and health care services implemented with government support.

Finland understands “health” as the definition of WHO, as an state that permits people to lead a socially, individually and economically productive life; so it is something more than not to have a disease, it is a resource which permit people have a normal daily life, and it includes physical habilities and social and personal resources. According to this ecological health perspective, the health of a person depends of its own (his behaviour, genetic…) and of the environment that surrounds him (good health care systems, healthy routines…)

Finland use this theory as a point of reference, so its way to improve the health of the people is to change behaviour and environment in a healthy way, and they do it with “health promotion”. Health promotion programs provide planned and organized activities to help individuals make informed decisions about their health; and promote policy, environmental and legislative changes at various levels of government to get a healthier society. So, boosting these two levels, one more private and another more governmental, health promotion programs want to get a healthier society.

Ministry of Social Affairs and Health (MSAH) is the main responsible about the application of health promotion in Finland. It prepares legislation and guides implementation, guides the development of social welfare and health care services and policy, prepares hey reforms and is responsible for links with political decision-making. This Ministry has under itself some agencies and institutes whose aim is research and development within the administrative branch:

·        The Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare

·        The Finnish Medicines Agency Fimea

·        STUK (Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority)

·        The Finnish Institute of Occupational Health

Organization

Municipalities control and organize social welfare and health care by private and public companies. These care systems have the goal and the obligation of provide services around Finland, and they have the support of the government, and they follow the guidance given by Ministry of Social Affairs and Health.

Social and health care services are produced by private and public companies. First ones are monitored by Regional State Administrative Agencies. For use them, people must pay an established amount of fee that can change depending of the system they use and their family possibilities. Public systems are monitored by National Supervisory Authority for Welfare and Health Valvira, and they are free of charge.

Municipalities can offer basic services alone or joint municipal authorities with other municipalities. A person who need to visit a social or health care system, must do it in his or her municipality of residence; but if he or she has an emergency, the attention can be provide by a care system for the residence where the emergency takes place.

Funding

The most important part of health and social care system funding is given by taxes. Municipalities control the fees that people must pay, that depends of the type of system they use. Most of the public social and health care system are for free. However, if you want to use a private company, you must pay an established fee. If someone can't pay the amount of fee that he must, municipalities must reduce the amount, or give him income support for paying it.

The rest of the funding comes from insurances paid by employers, private insurances and payments from the state and municipalities.

The ranking of social and health care funding is:

·        Employers: 32,0%

·         Insurances: 13,8%

·       State: 26,8%

·        Municipalities: 22,1%

·        Social Protection funds: 5,3%

Rights and status

All Finnish people has the same health and social rights, independent of their religion, residence or job.

Medical patients and clients of social services have the right to appropriate a high-level service from social and health care service; and patients of social services must be treated in a manner that doesn’t infringe on their human dignity, convictions or privacy.

Furthermore, documents of social welfare and health care services and the information that they contain, is absolutely confidential. It means that patients and clients of social welfare services have the right to know when their information is being use, and they can deny its transmission. 

If a patient is not satisfied with the service that she or she has received, the patient can submit a complaint to the person in charge of the operating unit; or file an official complaint with a supervisory official. If the patient is not comfortable with the attention provided by a social welfare service, she or he can also appeal for a change; and in case of treatment injury, the patient can apply for compensation from the Finnish Patient Insurance Centre.

Health services

The aim of health care in Finland is to maintain and improve people’s health, wellbeing, work, functional capacity and social security, as well as to reduce health inequalities. There is available different kinds of health services:

·        Disease-related treatments for patients of all ages.

·        Primary health care services.

·        Specialised medical care services.

·        Health counselling, maternity and child welfare clinics and schools.

·        Student health care.

·        Vaccinations.

·        Screenings for certain diseases.

·        Oral health services.

·        Mental health services.

·        Substant abuse services.

·        Health professionals’ appointments and health examinations

·        Accident and emergency care

·        Services to the unemployed.

Social services

Social welfare includes social services, related support services, and other measures social welfare professionals adopt to promote the functional capacity, social wellbeing and inclusion of individuals, families and communities. Some of the services provided by the social welfare systems are:

·        Social work and social guidance

·        Social rehabilitation

·        Family work

·        Home services and home care

·        Informal care support

·        Housing services

·        Services in Institutions

·        Child guidance

·        Supervision of contact sessions between parents and children.

Social services and social security are guaranteed by different institutions. It depends of the needs and the system needed by the client:

•          Municipalities: provide social services and informal care allowance. Join KELA, it provides also social assistance and healthcare.
•            KELA (Social Insurance Institution of Finland): it provides National pension, sickness and disability benefits, rehabilitation, parental and family benefits, housing benefits and student financial aid. Join municipalities, it provides social assistance and healthcare; and join unemployed funds, it provides unemployment benefits.

These two are based on residence.

•  Unemployment funds: join KELA, it provides unemployment benefits.
• Pension companies and private insurances: it provides earnings related pensions and benefits for accidents at work and occupational diseases.

In summary, the Social Security System is financed through taxes and insurance contributions.

These two are based on employment.

 Finnish health and social situation nowadays 

Nowadays, Finland, thanks of initiatives like the national vaccination programme and thanks of having high standards of hygiene, has got good results in adverting many epidemics and infectious diseases. One of main goals of MSAH is to reduce health inequalities in this country to prevent health problems like cardiovascular diseases and mortality. It’s getting it by activities that change lifestyle of the people. It also informs people about health to help them to make good decisions by guides like “Well-being through nutrition”, which help people to have a healthier diet and make good choices.