A group of about 100 people held a demonstration on the steps outside the Parliament Building in Helsinki on Tuesday afternoon, calling for a review of how healthcare funds are distributed around the country.
According to an Yle reporter at the scene, the group was mainly made up of people from the regions of South Karelia, South Savo, and Kymenlaakso — three areas of Finland which have been hit especially hard by the financial crisis currently facing the public healthcare system.
The group — made up of regional councillors, municipal decision-makers as well as ordinary members of the public — is demanding the government review the way in which Finland funds its regional healthcare authorities, also known as wellbeing services counties.
The current funding model — nicknamed sote — was introduced in 2022 by the government of Sanna Marin after a decade of political wrangling and failures by previous coalitions to get the legislation over the line.
However, people in Finland have not been pleased with the consequences of the sweeping reform. A poll last year found a clear majority felt their local health services had deteriorated since sote was brought in.
Many healthcare regions face spiralling debts, with some forced to lay off hundreds of workers as they try to balance the books.
The protestors outside parliament on Tuesday pointed in particular to what they said is the unfair nature in which funds are distributed, and the subsequent knock-on effects such decisions can have on smaller regions.
