Health professionals propose measures to reduce waste work in Finnish hospitals and health centers

Social and healthcare professionals in Finland have proposed measures to reduce what is referred to as waste work in hospitals and health centers. Initially, the suggestions were sought from a broad audience, allowing all to respond. This resulted in 140 suggestions from nursing staff, 60 from social workers, and contributions from pharmaceutical experts, totaling between 400 to 500 proposals, according to MP Paula Risikko.

The initiative to gather these proposals is led by the Vaikuttavuusseura association, of which Risikko is a board member. Her aim is to decrease the responsibilities of welfare areas and achieve cost savings through the elimination of waste work.

Risikko indicated that waste work can include unnecessary annual assessments requested from doctors or the process of renewing prescriptions. “Do we really need to request assessments for every issue every year? That takes up valuable time for doctors. Is it necessary for a patient to consult a doctor just to renew a prescription, especially if a condition has persisted for many years and it’s clear the individual requires that medication?” she questioned.

The proposals for reducing waste work have now been submitted to the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, where a working group is evaluating whether legislative changes are needed or if guidelines will suffice. Risikko noted that some tasks are legally mandated or based on established practices, and all submitted proposals are currently under review.