Varsity students to get equal healthcare facilities

The bill on healthcare for university students has been passed on Friday, said the Finnish Student Health Service (FSHS) in a press release. The Act will come into force on 1 January 2021.

FSHS will start preparations to serve double the number of clients immediately. There is already a strong basis for expansion, with important new practices and service channels introduced in recent years in the context of normal development activities.

“Our work is based on a nationwide patient data system with integrations with national systems, ready-built operating structures and multidisciplinary collaboration networks to promote health in student communities. We listen to students’ wishes and needs, and in response have developed our service channels and introduced in recent years digital solutions that are also cost-effective and that can be scaled up to help us serve a growing and diverse student population. The solutions we have introduced to develop our work will help us greatly as we expand our operations," said Katariina Poskiparta, Managing Director of FSHS.

According to FSHS, the Act on university student healthcare aims to secure smoothly functioning and equal healthcare services for university students, including those studying at universities of applied sciences. This will also guide the work of the Finnish Student Health Service during the construction of its new service model and network of units.

Poskiparta believes the new legislation goes a long way to meeting the service needs of young adults, and services will not change significantly as a result of the expansion.

“In principle, students studying at universities of applied sciences are young adults who use services in much the same way as our present clients. It is nevertheless difficult to say whether there is an unmet need in some specific services; it may also be, for example, that not everyone has sought out municipal services," Poskiparta said.