Lapland welfare area faces restructuring amid pressures for savings affecting elderly care services

The immense pressure for savings within the Lapland welfare area is leading to significant changes in services for residents, particularly affecting the elderly. The need for elderly care has received special attention in the recent social services and healthcare reform. Consequently, the welfare area is actively disseminating information to residents by visiting municipalities. The welfare area must now justify why some services are being cut, despite a growing elderly population in the region.

Lapland’s welfare sector inherited a hefty service structure from local municipalities, which is now being streamlined, especially in elderly care. Notably, not every municipality has a health center with inpatient wards anymore. This is particularly painful in areas where there were previously more locations for round-the-clock care than the welfare area plans to provide. The welfare area justifies these structural changes not only by pointing to strict financial constraints but also by the goal of standardizing services.

In Ylitornio, residents express relief that the local health center’s inpatient ward will remain open, which they view as vital. However, the situation in eastern Lapland paints a different picture, where residents in Sallat are outraged by the decision to close their health center’s ward. The closure has led to longer transfer times for patients, which residents view as lacking humanity. Similarly, the shared inpatient ward in Pelkosenniemi and Savukoski, both with populations under a thousand, has ceased operations, forcing residents to travel considerable distances for care.

This restructuring has sparked deep concerns among citizens about the future of essential services and the treatment of vulnerable populations.