The Finnish government reached an agreement on the Patient Safety Act, says Lindén
MINISTER from family and social services Aki Lindén (SDP) announced on Monday that the government has reached an agreement on the controversial patient safety law and will present it to the parliament on Tuesday or Wednesday. reports Democrat.
The fall would effectively enable regional government agencies to limit strikes affecting key social and health services and order workers to work under the threat of a fine.
However, the parliamentary group of the Left Alliance announced immediately after the announcement that it opposes the bill in its current form and plans to demand significant amendments to it in parliament.
“Due to the schedule pressure, the ministers of the Left Alliance are ready to bring a proposal from the government to the parliamentary hearing exceptionally without the parliamentary group’s approval of the content of the law. The party’s lawmakers plan to continue their efforts to modify the law during the parliamentary hearing,” the group said. public statement.
Jussi Saramochairman of the parliamentary group of the Left Alliance, told STT stated on Monday that although the government has an obligation to advance the project to secure the social and health services necessary for the health and life of patients, many of its provisions weaken industrial action even to the extent that it is not justified. from the point of view of services.
Unless these aspects of the bill are improved, the group will have no choice but to vote against the bill, he said.
Teemu Muhonenpolitical reporter at Helsingin Sanomat, wrote in his analysis, that the party’s decision may even lead to it abandoning the five-party system, as the other ruling parties would hardly tolerate the party voting against the bill.
The Nurses’ Union (Super) and the Terveydenhuolto amattliitto (Tehy) have announced intensive care strikes in Hämeenlinna, Oulu and Turku. Unions have expressed dismay at the bill, claiming it would remove nurses’ right to take industrial action.
Lindén revealed on Monday that the scope of the bill was moderately narrowed in the last stage of preparation by excluding all forms of social care except for home care that is essential for the patient’s health and life.
The members of Super and Tehy are organizing a one-day strike at the intensive care unit of Kanta-Häme Central Hospital in Hämeenlinna on Friday. Even if the bill does not come into effect in time to affect the strike, it could come into effect before the four-day strike that starts in the intensive care unit of Turku Central Hospital on Tuesday, September 20.
The second four-day strike is scheduled to begin at Oulu Central Hospital’s intensive care unit on September 27.
The hospital district of Kanta-Häme and the hospital district of Varsinais-Suomen announced on Monday that they have filed a preliminary injunction application with the district court, which aims to guarantee patient safety during strikes.
Aleksi Teivainen – HT