Finnish welfare regions rarely test employees for substance use despite rising concerns

Drug and alcohol testing among healthcare workers in Finland’s welfare regions remains uncommon, with some of the largest employers—each with over 20,000 staff—conducting as few as ten tests annually, an investigation by public broadcaster Yle reveals.

Only eight of the country’s 21 welfare regions provided data on drug tests across all personnel, while just four disclosed figures for formal interventions related to substance abuse. The disparity emerges as reports surface of employees, including a previously interviewed care assistant, working while dependent on drugs—highlighting gaps in workplace oversight.

At Helsinki University Hospital (HUS), Finland’s largest healthcare provider with 27,000 employees, drug tests surged from 35 in 2024 to 173 last year. The increase coincides with a documented rise in the use of alpha-PVP, a potent synthetic stimulant, among staff. Minna Majuri, HUS’s chief occupational health physician, attributed the spike partly to refined reporting practices but confirmed that broader substance use trends are visible in test results. “There’s always room to improve how we address these cases,” Majuri acknowledged.

In the Etelä-Savo welfare region (Eloisa), which employs 7,600 people, just ten drug tests were conducted last year—up from seven in 2024. Johanna Laukkanen, Eloisa’s workplace wellbeing manager, emphasized that supervisors are trained to act swiftly when signs of impairment emerge, whether through absenteeism, workplace incidents, or patient feedback. “A colleague’s ability to function directly impacts patient safety,” Laukkanen said, noting a slight uptick in interventions, though exact numbers were unavailable.

Pirkanmaa’s welfare region (Pirha) reported 214 drug screens in 2025, down from 260 the prior year, with most tied to fitness-for-duty assessments. HR director Taru Kotiniitty stressed that while testing isn’t routine, it is deployed when substance use risks compromising workplace safety or care standards.

The Finnish Institute of Occupational Health (Työturvallisuuskeskus) described substance abuse as the leading cause of professional license revocations in healthcare—a “significant but often hidden” issue, per chief specialist Kaija Ojanperä. She welcomed the growing dialogue on workplace monitoring, framing it as critical to both staff welfare and patient protection.