Appeal threatens Oulu 33 million euro modular hospital plan

An appeal to Finland’s Market Court threatens the Pohjois-Pohjanmaa wellbeing services county’s 33 million euro modular hospital project in Oulu, Yle reports.

The delay has forced the wellbeing services county to urgently seek alternative arrangements because indoor air problems in older hospital buildings are putting patient safety at risk.

“The appeal is pending before the Market Court. It is causing a delay that we certainly would not have wanted. That is why we must also examine all other options for resolving the acute space problems,” said Tuomas Holma, chief medical officer for development at the wellbeing services county.

Holma did not comment on the contents of the appeal or the identity of the appellant. Proceedings at the Market Court can take a long time, and the wellbeing services county cannot wait for a decision.

A new, billion-euro-scale hospital has been under construction in Oulu for years, but it will not be fully completed until around the turn of the decade. Under the original plan, some outpatient services were to remain in the old facilities until the final buildings of the hospital project were ready.

Because of serious problems in the old buildings, the regional board decided in June to acquire a quickly assembled modular hospital where services could be moved temporarily.

The regional board decided on June 23 to lease modular premises for Oulu University Hospital from Elementit-E Oy for 15 years. Construction was scheduled to begin in October, with the hospital due to open in August 2027.

The planned facility was to house a kidney outpatient clinic, a dialysis unit and outpatient clinics for several medical specialties.

Without the modular hospital, hospital services will have to be spread across different parts of Oulu, Holma said. The neurology outpatient clinic is already scheduled to move to Takalyötty, near the city centre, during August. A rapid move to replacement premises is also being prepared for the internal medicine outpatient clinic.

“Dispersing the services requires additional resources, but it is a better option than continuing in poor facilities and creating risks for staff and patients,” Holma said.

The old hospital buildings have widespread problems with building systems and indoor air. Legionella bacteria have also been found in some water pipes. Some staff members have been unable to come to work on the advice of occupational health services.

“The situation appears to be more difficult in the internal medicine and neurology outpatient clinics than elsewhere,” Holma said.

Similar problems have been found in psychiatric facilities in Peltola, separate from the university hospital campus. One building has been damaged so badly that it must be vacated quickly.

The regional board is expected to consider the matter at meetings in the coming weeks. Holma said the situation was urgent, but stressed that the wellbeing services county had not yet decided to abandon the modular hospital project entirely. It is preparing alternatives because the length of the Market Court proceedings is difficult to predict.