A Thriving Everyday Life – Green Solutions for the Counties in Uusimaa
The Greens are building a fair, thriving, and sustainable Uusimaa. We want to ensure that every resident receives the social and healthcare services they need, regardless of their background or place of residence. We are creating wellbeing services counties you can trust – today and in the future.
We will make sure that children and young people receive the support and security they need to grow and develop, older people can live safe and dignified lives, and that social, healthcare, and rescue service personnel are treated with the respect they deserve.
Restoring trust in the public social and healthcare system is one of our most important goals in these county elections. The wellbeing services county is responsible for organizing services. NGOs and the private sector can serve as valuable partners in providing these services.
We offer solutions that promote transparency, adequate resources, and accessibility.
In these elections, we are choosing decision-makers responsible for vital services in social welfare, healthcare, and rescue operations. Everyday life is what matters – the decisions made at the county level shape the daily lives we all depend on.
1. Accessible and High-Quality Services
Shorter waiting times: We will improve care pathways and, when necessary, increase staffing to speed up access to care. Non-urgent care must be available within 14 days at health centres and within 3–6 months for dental care.
Help in acute situations: We will expand evening appointments at health centres and secure adequate resources for hospital emergency services, rescue services, emergency medical services, and social and crisis support.
Smooth appointment booking: Booking an appointment must be easy and flexible – by phone, online, or via mobile app. Problems with callback systems must be resolved.
Focus on prevention: Schools, occupational healthcare, and maternity and child health clinics play a key role in supporting health and wellbeing from an early stage.
Accessible services: Local health and social service centres and service points must be accessible to everyone – including those with reduced mobility and people without a car.
Digital and mobile services: In addition to in-person services, we will improve remote services and expand mobile units to reach, for example, elderly residents and people living in sparsely populated areas.
Equal services: Services must be offered equally in both Finnish and Swedish. The special needs of minority groups – including cultural minorities, people with disabilities, and sexual and gender minorities – must be acknowledged and addressed.
Continuity of care: We will support the implementation of team-based care models and strengthen the role of specialist care within primary care.
Effective disability services: No person with a disability should be left without necessary care, rehabilitation, housing, or accessible transport services. All services intended for everyone must also be accessible to all.
Everyday safety nets: We will prevent the deepening of social problems by ensuring timely and sufficient social services. We will combat homelessness and domestic violence systematically, while also providing support services. Cross-sectoral collaboration will be strengthened between social services, healthcare, education and employment services, and the third sector.
2. Wellbeing of Children, Youth, and Families
Support for starting a family: We will ensure easy access to low-threshold family planning clinics, facilitate access to fertility treatments, and promote comprehensive family coaching. We will support postpartum recovery, home visits, and access to physiotherapy.
Free contraception for under-25s: Everyone under the age of 25 who wants it must have access to free contraception easily and without stigma.
Early support for families with children: Maternity and child health clinics and school healthcare must also provide parenting support from infancy through adolescence, taking into account all parents in the family. We will increase access to family counselling and home services for families with children, aiming to reduce the need for child protection.
Support for children’s and youth development: We will ensure adequate resources for student health services. There must be sufficient numbers of school nurses, psychologists, social workers, and psychiatric nurses in schools.
Child protection: We will strengthen crisis support for families and ensure sufficient resources for child protection, family work, and mentorship services. Post-care services for young people exiting the child welfare system will be properly resourced, and the age limit for aftercare will be raised to 23. We will ensure effective care pathways for youth exhibiting behavioural issues related to crime.
A good life for children and young people: We will enhance cooperation with municipalities and NGOs to promote physical activity and healthy lifestyles. We will ensure that diverse groups of children and youth are included and heard in decision-making and service development that affects them.
3. Quality of Life for Older People
Safe housing solutions: We will develop home-like and personalised housing options alongside home care and assisted living. We will promote communal living that offers both social support and a sense of security.
Effective home services: We will ensure sufficient resources for home care and hospital-at-home services, as well as multidisciplinary support for living at home, such as meal delivery, cleaning, and transportation services.
Comprehensive care for older adults: Every older person will have a designated caseworker or care team. A successful care process includes collaboration with family members and local NGOs.
Good quality of life: We will encourage older adults to stay physically active, offer nutritional counselling, and provide meaningful hobbies in cooperation with municipalities and organisations.
Digital services that support older adults: We will implement new, secure remote care services and make use of medication automation, with special attention to user-friendliness.
Support for informal carers: Sufficient support services, regular time off, and proper compensation for informal care are essential to help informal carers manage their important role.
4. Good Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services
Low-threshold mental health services: We will ensure early support for mental wellbeing through health and social care centres, as well as in schools and secondary education. We will expand digital and community-based mental health services. The requirement for sobriety must not be a barrier to accessing mental health support.
Functioning psychiatric care: We will secure sufficient resources for psychiatric care and deepen cooperation between primary care and specialist mental health services. We will pilot a mental health ambulance model.
Improving mental health expertise: We will make short-term or psychotherapy studies available free of charge for wellbeing services county employees. Knowledge about suicide prevention will be strengthened across all sectors of health and social services.
Better access to substance abuse rehabilitation: We will increase the number of residential treatment places and develop rehabilitative and client-centred outpatient services. We will pilot safe consumption rooms for drug users.
5. Staff Wellbeing
Promoting workplace wellbeing: We will create effective models for professional supervision across all fields. Skills related to wellbeing at work and workplace community dynamics will be strengthened, and employees must always be treated with respect.
Good leadership: We will ensure that supervisors have the necessary skills and support to lead effectively and manage their teams. Supervisors are responsible for maintaining occupational safety.
Proper onboarding: We will develop solid induction programmes and mentoring models to support new employees.
Skills development: We will offer staff opportunities to participate in training and combine studies with work. We will build career paths that encourage professional growth and increase apprenticeship options.
Work–life balance: We will support flexible scheduling and the use of working time banks. Remote work and flexible arrangements must be enabled where job tasks allow.
Strong work ability: We will promote ergonomically sound shift planning and adjust work environments to be less physically and mentally demanding. Restorative breaks, active commuting, and inclusive employment for people with partial work ability will be supported.
Employee involvement: Staff expertise and professional knowledge must be utilised in service and process development.
6. Wellbeing of People, Nature, and the Environment
Reducing the carbon footprint of social and healthcare services: We will draw up climate action plans for all wellbeing services counties and set the goal of achieving a carbon-neutral social, healthcare, and rescue services sector by 2035 at the latest.
Sustainable procurement and premises: All procurement must meet sustainability criteria. We will improve energy and material efficiency, transition to renewable energy sources, and favour low-emission transportation solutions.
Advancing the circular economy: We will reduce the use of disposable products and food waste, and ensure effective recycling systems in all facilities.
Adapting to climate change: We will prepare adaptation plans and readiness measures for extreme weather events and heatwaves in both rescue operations and social and healthcare services.
Raising environmental awareness: We will provide education for both staff and clients on the connections between the environment, wellbeing, and health, as well as on sustainable practices.
Nutrition aligned with dietary recommendations: We will promote the use of vegetables and plant-based food to support the wellbeing of both people and the planet.
7. Sustainable Economy in the Counties
Responsible financial management: We will invest in preventive services and early support. Cooperation with NGOs and municipalities will be strengthened. We will prioritise treatment methods and services that are proven to be effective.
Efficiency without compromising service quality: We will streamline operational processes, care pathways, and service models, while reducing the use of temporary (locum) doctors.
Increasing funding levels: We will advocate for increased state funding to meet rising service costs due to inflation and wage growth.
Taxing rights for counties: Granting counties the right to levy taxes would strengthen local self-governance and enable regionally tailored funding solutions.
Sustainable fiscal adjustment measures: Any financial adjustment must be economically and socially sustainable – also in the long term. Postponing the requirement to cover county deficits would allow for more functional and reasonable savings measures.
Securing funding for HUS (Helsinki University Hospital): We will demand adequate state funding for HUS to carry out its national-level responsibilities and research work. Cooperation with counties will be strengthened to streamline care chains and find financially sustainable solutions.