Elections again. Although the municipal elections were only a short while ago, the regional elections are now beginning — the elections for the councils of the new wellbeing services counties established as a result of the social and health care reform . Even though the municipal elections were just held and the significance of the wellbeing services counties is still unclear to some, these are extremely important elections. After the social and health care reform, the wellbeing services counties will make decisions on matters including health centres, hospitals, dental care, maternity and child health clinics, child welfare, home care and rescue services — a truly large part of each of our lives.
Why do the wellbeing services elections matter?
Kirkkonummi will in future belong to the Western Uusimaa wellbeing services county together with Espoo, Hanko, Inkoo, Kauniainen, Lohja, Raasepori, Siuntio, Karkkila and Vihti. I therefore decided to stand as a candidate to make this region good and functional for all of us from Hanko to Espoo and Karkkila — and of course not forgetting us here in Kirkkonummi.
What does this area actually mean in terms of scale? Western Uusimaa has a population of around 470,000 — roughly equivalent to Tampere and Turku combined. The county is responsible in practice for all social and health care services and rescue operations in the region — in terms of budget, that means a billion-scale organisation. The council’s decisions therefore have a genuine impact on the daily lives of hundreds of thousands of people.
What is important to me?
It is important to me to ensure that even after the social and health care reform, local services such as health centres and maternity clinics remain close to residents, and that services are not recklessly privatised under the guise of efficiency. It is also extremely important to look after the wellbeing and adequacy of care staff — the current nursing shortage and care backlog cannot be addressed by fiscal adjustment alone.
Let’s keep local services local and look after each other!
I wrote about the social and health care reform during my campaign: what would happen without a health centre , the significance of sote for the welfare society and about abolishing healthcare fees .
Other posts
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Health belongs to everyone — no fees
Abolishing healthcare client fees saves bureaucracy, addresses problems before they grow, and ensures no one is left without care for financial reasons.
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Sote is the cornerstone of the welfare state
Social and healthcare is expensive, but essential. Without a functioning welfare system, can we still call Finland a welfare state?
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What if there were no health centre?
What if Jorvi A&E were the only emergency service for all of Western Uusimaa? What if you always had to queue for hours at Jorvi?
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Lähteelä — a gem on Kirkkonummi coast
Kirkkonummi acquired Lähteelä, a coastal recreation area. It is one of the few places on Kirkkonummi's coast accessible without a private boat - now it's permanently available to all.
