Emergency
Services phone 112
 KELA
Card
Healthcare
Services
Municipal
Health Centres
Hospitals
in Finland
Pregnancy
Dentists
Pharmacies
Foreigners´
Crisis Centre
Public healthcare is available to all residents
in Finland, regardless of their financial situation. Public
healthcare services comprise primary healthcare, provided
by municipal health centres, and specialised hospital care. The
Ministry of Social Affairs and Health draws up social
welfare and health care legislation and guides its implementation.
The government social insurance agency (Kansaneläkelaitos,
or KELA)
provides assistance to residents in paying for healthcare.
Reimbursement of medical expenses is available for doctor's
fees, dental care costs, examination and treatment charges,
and more. Please note however that reimbursement is not
calculated on the basis of the actual costs, but a schedule
of fixed charges indicating the maximum cost covered. More
information...
KELA
Card - Your Social Security & Health Insurance
card
To claim reimbursement of medical costs
you will have to obtain a KELA card, which indicates a resident's
eligibility for social security in Finland. You will also
need to prove your eligibility when purchasing medicines
at a pharmacy - by showing your card you will receive the
medicines at a reduced price.
All permanent residents may be issued a
KELA card. More
information...
Claims to your local KELA office for reimbursement
of medical expenses must be accompanied by an itemised statement
of fees from your doctor, documentary evidence for any diagnostic
tests or treatments required by your doctor, and proof of
payment. Reimbursement must be claimed from KELA / your workplace
fund within six months of
the original expenditure.
Most KELA forms are available in English at the
KELA site,
and can be downloaded OR used online. This includes an
application for a KELA card, claims for reimbursement of
medical expenses etc.
What is a Permanent Resident?
Throughout this site you will regularly
encounter the term "permanent resident". A permanent resident
is entitled to social security benefits from the Social
Insurance Institution, KELA, and it is often in reference to this
that the term is used.
The following description of a permanent
resident is provided by KELA:
You can be considered to be living in Finland
immediately from the day you move here if you intend to live in Finland
on a permanent basis and have a residence permit for one year or more
(if such permit is required; different provisions apply to EU and Nordic
citizens. See this page).
Whether residence is considered to be on a permanent basis or not is
determined by reference to the purpose of your entry to Finland. If you
move to Finland as a
- return migrant,
- refugee or
- asylum seeker
and have been granted a residence permit valid for at least a year, you
are usually considered to be moving to Finland permanently.
The move is also considered to be permanent if you come to Finland for
family reasons or you have either a permanent work contract or one for
at least two years. If you move to Finland for a short period of time
you are not considered to be moving permanently, nor if you are a student
who is in Finland for the sole purpose of studying. This means that you
would not be entitled to social security benefits from KELA.
Under special circumstances, even those with residence permits valid
for less than a year can be considered to be living in Finland provided
that there are no reasons that would preclude renewal of the permit. Such
special circumstances include family reunification and limited passport
validity (due, for example, to conditions in the bearer's home country).
Persons seeking asylum in Finland are not considered to be living in
Finland while their case is pending. If, however, they have been issued
a residence permit valid for at least a year, they are considered to be
living in Finland from the date the permit was issued. Quota refugees
are considered to be living in Finland starting immediately from when
they actually move to Finland.
Persons moving to Finland must register at a population register office
(more
information). In order to qualify for benefits from KELA, you must
also register in a KELA office and complete the application form (more
information and online application).
You will then receive a written decision on whether or not you are covered
by the Finnish residence-based social security system. If the application
is accepted, you will receive a personal KELA card. If it is not accepted
it can be appealed by following the instructions included.
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Finnish
Healthcare Services
In case of illness you should make an appointment
to visit your local
health centre. In an emergency call 112 or
visit your local hospital.
In Espoo, Helsinki, Kauniainen or Vantaa,
you can call the Telephone Health Service on (09) 10023 for
information about illnesses and health care services. The
service is run by qualified medical staff and is open 24
hours every day of the year. Service costs the price of a
normal telephone call.
Municipal
Health Centres (Terveysasemat) in Finland
Primary healthcare is provided by municipal
health centres. They are usually only open for specific hours
on weekdays, so you should make an appointment to see a doctor
if you want to avoid a lengthy wait. You need to use the
centre which is closest to the place where you live; it is
not possible to make a doctor's appointment at a different
surgery than the one most local to you.
Health centres are run by municipal councils
and no central directory is available for the whole of Finland.
If a link for your area does not appear below, try going
to your city's Web site at www.yourcityname.fi (ex.
www.helsinki.fi) - many of these sites have English versions
with healthcare information. Alternatively call telephone
directory information on 118 and
ask for the local health centre (terveysasema).
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Hospitals
(Sairaalat) in Finland
For Emergency Services
call 112.
In an emergency you will be admitted directly
into a Finnish hospital. If the situation is not
an emergency you should first contact a health
care centre. In a dental emergency, turn to the
dental clinic in a health
care centre and make an appointment.
Finland is divided into 20 hospital districts.
The Hospital District of Helsinki and Uusimaa (HUS) is the
largest of these, comprising 32 hospitals..
The following districts also have hospital
directories:
For other districts call 118 and
ask for the local hospital (sairaala).
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Pregnancy
Women should visit a maternity clinic as
soon as they become pregnant or before the end of the 4th
month of pregnancy. The clinic monitors the health of the
pregnant woman and the child and organizes antenatal classes
for mothers and fathers. The services are free of charge
for the customers of the clinic. Once the infant is born,
the doctors and nurses of the infant healthcare clinic take
care of the health and vaccinations of the child. Information
on the topic can be found on the website of the Ministry
of Social Affairs and Health.
Your local health centre* will provide you with more information
on maternity and infant healthcare clinics.
*see Health Care Centres above
Pregnant women who are permanent esidents in
Finland are entitled to a Maternity Grant (äitiysavustus)
as long as certain conditions are fulfilled. Maternity grants
are available either as non-taxable financial aid or as a
Maternity Package (äitiyspakkaus). Pregnant mothers
who have been permanent residents in Finland for a sufficient
period of time are entitled to a Maternity Allowance (äitiysraha).
See KELA's Maternity
& Child Care section
for details of these and
other benefits.
The guide "Having Children in Finland" is available
in the following languages:
English, Finnish, Albanian, Arabic, Kurdish, Farsi, Swedish, Serb Croat
Pregnancy in Difficult Circumstances
If you are pregnant and do not have a partner
to support you, you can receive support for instance from First
Home (ensikoti). In First Homes, families receive support
in relation to parenthood and life management. Mothers are
welcome to First Home while they are pregnant or when they
have already given birth. See also The
Association of Single Guardians and Joint Guardians (Finnish
only).
Abortion
Abortion is allowed in Finland in cases
where childbirth will cause a health risk for the woman or
if pregnancy and childbirth would cause a significant strain
on the woman’s life. Women under 17 years of age and
over 40 years of age are allowed to request an abortion on
the basis of their age. If you are considering an abortion,
contact your doctor immediately.
Information on the topic can be found on the website of
the Ministry
of Social Affairs and Health.
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Dentists
(Hammaslääkärit)
Dental care is provided by the health
care centres as described above.
Pharmacies
(Apteekkit)
Medicines are sold only at pharmacies. Some
are sold without a prescription but for stronger medication
a doctor's prescription is required. There is always one
pharmacy in town that is open late.
The Finland-wide Yliopiston
Apteekki chain of pharmacies generally opens for
extended hours as well as on Sundays. They can be found
at at these
locations.
Foreigners´
Crisis Centre
The centre assists with mental and social
problems free of charge:
Simonkatu 12 B 13, 00100 Helsinki
Phone: (09) 6852828
Open: Monday -Friday, 09:00 - 15:00
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