Together towards a new HUS

The preparations required for the reform of healthcare, social welfare and rescue services, health and social services reform in short, is progressing in HUS. The aim of the reform is to ensure equal and smoother care pathways for patients together with the four wellbeing services counties to be established and the City of Helsinki. 

There are a lot of administrative changes involved in the reform, but the most important thing, patient care, will continue uninterrupted.

Together we will make the health and social services reform a success

In Uusimaa, the reform means that the four wellbeing services counties, the City of Helsinki and HUS, will jointly build equal and smooth care pathways for patients, from primary health care to specialist medical care. 

Thirteen thematic groups have been set up to work on the agreement on the organization of services in specialist medical care, each group consisting of one or several HUS representatives. The preparations are being coordinated by the City of Helsinki. The purpose of thematic groups is to describe the current state of specialist medical care services and to gather development ideas on the basis of which the group can work together to build the best possible methods of operation in the region.

HUS has organizational responsibilities as defined in the Uusimaa Act (Sections 5–6), such as demanding care, urgent care (excluding municipal appointments for urgent care), and prehospital emergency care. They are not covered by the agreement on the organization of care currently being negotiated, but the issues to be agreed are also closely linked to these.

The first agreement on organization of care will lay the foundation for future cooperation. At the heart of the organization agreement are the joint actions for strengthening primary health care. The services will be adapted into entities, and an important goal is to ensure continuity of care.

The aim is also to promote research into primary health care and social welfare and cooperation in education, development and innovation activities associated with health and social services. Similarly, cooperation will also continue in medicine and dentistry. 

Strong local services and seamless utilization of digitalization and consultation bring the services close to the patient. Important values for HUS are perseverance, partnership and science which creates future treatment forms and competences. By working together and developing services jointly, we will succeed in the reform. 

HUS will be re-established and the organization updated to reflect the reform

The Joint Authority HUS will be re-established in the course of the health and social services reform. The Joint Authority’s top decision-making bodies, financing model and corporate governance are defined in the Charter, which was approved by the councils of the wellbeing services counties and the City of Helsinki in April 2022.

The preparation for the health and social services reform requires an update of the HUS organization so that it will be able to adapt to the reform objectives of the future wellbeing services counties. Section 19 of the so-called implementation act (voimaanpanolaki 616/2021) of the health and social services reform provides for the transfer of the HUS Joint Authority personnel to the HUS Group. According to this provision, HUS Joint Authority's employment contracts in effect on January 1, 2023 will continue in the HUS Group in accordance with the previous terms and conditions of employment.

Organizational areas of health and social services in Uusimaa

• City of Helsinki
• Västra Nyland wellbeing services county 
• Eastern Uusimaa wellbeing services county
• Central Uusimaa wellbeing services county
• Vantaa-Kerava wellbeing services county