Pirkanmaa Hospital District Implements Major Staffing Cuts Amid Concerns for Patient Care in Finland
The Pirkanmaa Hospital District (Pirha) is implementing significant staffing cuts that will impact both patient care and personnel management roles. Following recent employee negotiations, it has been reported that dozens of frontline leaders in patient services are at risk of job loss. Kimmo Mäkelä, a chief representative from the nursing organization Tehy, highlighted that this marks the fifth round of negotiations in two years, leading to exhaustion among staff.
Mäkelä warns that the remaining workforce may face overwhelming workloads due to the lack of support from supervisors, potentially causing burnout and declining workplace well-being. Juhani Sand, the executive director of Pirha’s corporate services, acknowledged the genuine threat to patient care roles, highlighting that mid-level managers could be directly involved in patient services.
The Pirkanmaa region aims to reduce staff by the equivalent of 80 full-time positions as part of an effort to restructure management and achieve permanent savings of €12 million by next year. While the majority of cuts will affect upper management, Erhola, the area’s director, confirmed that a variety of roles, including direct patient care, may still face reductions.
There are legal obligations to offer new positions to those at risk of redundancy; however, some management roles may simply cease to exist. Should employees refuse new job offers, this could result in termination, emphasizing the district’s need for flexibility. Tehy has raised concerns about service quality and the potential loss of client relationships during this transitional period, predicting challenges in re-establishing those ties. The organization plans to finalize all changes by early 2026. Disagreements persist regarding compliance with negotiation laws, as claims of insufficient communication about timelines have been contested by the management.