Helsinki's homes for the aged suffer from acute shortage of nursing staff

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There are currently vacancies open for dozens of nurses in Helsinki's old people's homes.
      "The situation has become worse over the last couple of years. Previously, there were dozens of applicants for each job, while now there are just a few, and even they might not be suitable for the job", says Arja Peiponen of the City of Helsinki's Social Services Department.
      Currently, a total of 1,500 nurses are working in the city's old people's homes and service housing.
      According to Peiponen, such a huge shortage of nurses exists only in Helsinki. In the other parts of the country, the problem is not as serious as this. As for practical nurses, the situation is satisfactory even in Helsinki.
      "The problem is acute", notes Marja-Leena Toukonen of the Social Services Department. "If there are not enough staff, it is hard for the nurses, and they cannot endlessly put up with such a workload."
      Marja-Liisa Jaakkola of the Union of Health and Social Care Professionals (Tehy) shares her opinion. "There is as much work as nurses are able to do in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area."
     
Reasons for the shortage of nurses in old-age welfare include small salaries and difficult working conditions. Another sector that does not attract staff in the Greater Helsinki area is psychiatric health care.
      According to Tehy, the starting salary for a nurse is about EUR 1,700 a month - not including any extra compensation. For example in Helsinki's largest old-age home Kustaankartano, the basic salary is EUR 1,860 a month, excluding extra compensation.
     
Frequently, nurses who have moved to the Helsinki region from some other parts of Finland would like to move back to their home district, because jobs are available even there while residential costs are appreciably lower.
      The number of people who have reached retirement age has already increased, and the young are not interested in old-age welfare. "It is understandable that young people find it difficult to approach those over 80 years of age", says Peiponen.
     
The situation for home-help services for the elderly looks somewhat brighter. These services are managed by local health centres. According to Anna-Liisa Lyytinen, who is in charge of these services in Helsinki: "There are enough suitable applicants for permanent jobs, but sometimes there is a shortage of substitutes. Home-help work is more variable than work at an institute, and consequently, nurses apparently find it more attractive".
      Currently, only around a dozen vacancies out of 1,600 are open in the home-help services sector in Helsinki.
     
During this year, the guarantee of medical care that came into force in March 2005 has tempted nurses to move over to specialised health care. Besides, the jobs in this sector have been the most desired ones already beforehand. Another factor is the recruiting policy of the Hospital District of Helsinki and Uusimaa (HUS): They hire only nurses - not practical nurses.
      According to Tehy's Jaakkola, even private employers are currently attracting nurses more than previously. The reasons include permanent employment and sometimes better working conditions.
     
The City of Helsinki's Social Services Department is working on the question of how to turn the work for old-age welfare into something more attractive. "We are studying various alternatives, including more flexible working hours, career advancement, promotion of professional competence, etc.", says Tehy's Arja Peiponen.
      Furthermore, attempts are made to improve the image of old-age welfare services and to intensify cooperation with schools and colleges.
      The target is to compile a recruitment programme and cooperation with health centres.
      "From the year 2007 on, the number of those people who retire will double every year. Now is the time to tackle the problem", concludes Marja-Leena Toukonen of the Helsinki's Social Services Department.
     
When looking at international comparisons, Finnish health care seems to be inexpensive in proportion to the country's gross national product. However, the most obvious reason for this is the low salaries paid to nurses and other staff who work for the health care branch - one of the factors behind the current shortage and the brain-drain of qualified nursing staff to work abroad or in the private sector.


Links:
  The Union of Health and Social Care Professionals (Tehy)
  The Finnish Union of Practical Nurses
  The City of Helsinki Social Services Department
  The Hospital District of Helsinki and Uusimaa

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