91-year-old leads protest in Pihtipudas over health service cuts

Around 200 people gathered in Pihtipudas on Thursday to protest the closure of the local health centre’s inpatient ward and reductions in other services, Finnish public broadcaster Yle reports.

The demonstration was organised by pensioner associations after the Keski-Suomi wellbeing services county decided to shut the ward and transfer patients elsewhere by the end of the week. Additional social and healthcare services will also be scaled back from next week, converting the local health centre into a basic service point.

Protest organiser Mikko Siekkinen, 91, condemned the decision, arguing that residents—particularly the elderly—will suffer due to long distances and limited access to care. “We absolutely cannot accept the closure of the health centre,” he said. “From now on, we are third-class citizens.”

Pihtipudas municipal director Ari Kinnunen questioned why similar-sized towns in the region retain their services while his community faces cuts. “Services are being reduced precisely where distances are longest and people are sickest,” he said. The municipality has appealed the decision to the administrative court.

Anne Pihl, service director for the Keski-Suomi wellbeing services county, defended the changes, stating that Pihtipudas will still receive the broadest service offering of any local centre, including doctor and nurse appointments four days a week and lab services three days a week. She insisted the adjusted services match local needs and that facilities at the new Sopukas service hub are adequate.

Health centre staff also joined the protest, criticising poor communication from the wellbeing services county. Nurse Heini Kemppainen, who worked in Pihtipudas for over a decade, was initially offered a job in Jyväskylä’s Nova Hospital but declined and later received a layoff notice—though she has since found local work. She noted that four nurses have left for other regions and two were dismissed.

Doctor Lauri Mielityinen, whose own future remains uncertain, accused the county of prioritising urban healthcare over rural areas. “Funding is found to treat city residents, but basic healthcare on the outskirts is being dismantled,” he said. “This isn’t reform—it’s deterioration, distance, and decline.”