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Emergency
Services phone 112
KELA
Card
Healthcare
Services
Municipal
Health Centres
Hospitals
in Finland
Pregnancy
Dentists
Pharmacies
Foreigners´
Crisis Centre
See also: Infopankki (Information
Bank) - more
information
See also: Life
Insurance
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...
A downloadable (PDF) English version
of the application for a KELA
card is available here.
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.
A downloadable (PDF) English version
of the claim for reimbursement
is available here.
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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 organises
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 residents
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
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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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