North Ostrobothnia wellbeing county plans 302 dismissals

North Ostrobothnia’s wellbeing services county Pohde plans to cut up to 511 positions, including 302 dismissals, Yle reports. The change negotiations affect all 18,000 of the county’s employees.

Two employees interviewed by Yle said resources are already insufficient and many workers are exhausted. They warned that cuts could affect patients and clients if problems build up and worsen before people receive care.

Anu Keränen, a sonographer who independently performs ultrasound examinations across Pohde, said she could not see where further cuts could be made.

“Many people are exhausted, and working conditions should instead be improved,” Keränen said.

Trade union Tehy has also expressed concern about the workload of the Pohde employees who remain. Super, which represents practical nurses, is concerned about both employee wellbeing and client safety.

Riku Repo, a psychologist and family and couples psychotherapist in child and family counselling at a maternity and child health clinic, said current resources do not always allow clients to receive help as promptly and comprehensively as professional standards would require.

Repo compared the situation to transporting a busload of people in a minibus. In the future, he said, the same busload would have to be transported in a van.

Over the past two years, the child and family counselling service area has expanded from Kempele to several municipalities, including Liminka, Lumijoki, Tyrnävä and Muhos. Resources have remained unchanged.

Repo said it was impossible to handle the current workload with fewer employees. The alternatives, he said, would clearly involve changing the nature or quality of the work.

Cutting duties is difficult because many tasks carried out by wellbeing services counties are required by law.

Concerns over delayed care

Keränen and Repo are concerned that people’s problems could accumulate and become more serious if preventive services are cut. They said there are already indications of this risk.

Keränen said ultrasound examinations sometimes reveal very serious findings that should have been investigated much earlier. She expects this to become more common.

Repo said clients in child and family counselling may have traumatic experiences, mental health problems or neurodevelopmental traits. Without timely support, assessment or referral to treatment, problems can become prolonged and more complex. This could increase the need for heavier services, including child protection.

Change negotiations have continued since 2023

Pohde has held 48 change negotiations since it was established in 2023. Before the current negotiations, a total of 50 employees had been dismissed.

Keränen said the high number of negotiations made her unsure whether to laugh or cry. Her duties have recently expanded to cover the whole of Pohde, and she obtained a driving licence as a result.

She said the negotiations were also visible in employee wellbeing and questioned whether decision-makers understood the reality at grassroots level.

Keränen believes many social and healthcare workers would willingly seek employment elsewhere if they were able to do so. She said the poor overall economic situation had so far restrained departures, but employees with other qualifications could leave if the economy improves.