Central Finland health chief seeks to reverse resignation after warning

Piia Vuorela says she resigned as head of the Central Finland Wellbeing Services County after feeling pressured by a notice that said her employer was considering terminating her probationary appointment. Yle reports that she now wants to withdraw her resignation, while the county’s regional board says it is final and has opened a search for a new director.

Vuorela resigned on September 23, after receiving an invitation to a hearing scheduled for the following week. The notice, seen by Yle, criticised her leadership and communication and said the employer was considering ending her appointment during her probationary period. It did not set out other options, Vuorela said.

She feared that a public hearing would bring damaging publicity and harm her career. Vuorela said she decided to resign soon after receiving the invitation, but began to reconsider soon afterwards when people contacted her to say they would have supported her.

Jani Ylälehto, chair of the regional board, denied that Vuorela had been pressured. He said the hearing was a normal procedure to hear her account and protect her rights, and that she would have had a week to prepare and could have used an assistant.

The notice cited concerns about Vuorela’s personnel management and communication. She said the examples were not specific enough. Vuorela had also faced public criticism over allegations that she led through fear. Ylälehto said the county had commissioned a survey on psychosocial strain among senior managers, but it did not yet have a report to establish whether the allegations were accurate.

Vuorela led the county for five months, having taken up the post on April 23. The regional board on Tuesday noted her request to return and decided to begin recruiting a new director. Vuorela said it was too early to say whether she would pursue the matter further.