Retaining the 14-day care guarantee

Key points of the debate

The debate concerned keeping the maximum waiting time for non-urgent primary healthcare access at 14 days instead of the previously agreed seven days. The government parties defended the proposal by citing staff shortages and the need to safeguard the operational capacities of wellbeing services counties. The opposition opposed the proposal, regarding it as a cut to primary healthcare and a weakening of access to care.

• –Should the care guarantee be tightened to seven days or kept at 14 days?
• –Is there sufficient healthcare staff to implement a stricter care guarantee?
• –Should funding be directed to wellbeing services counties instead of increasing Kela reimbursements?

• National Coalition PartyIn favour

  Staff shortages prevent the implementation of the seven-day care guarantee, and an overly tight time limit would jeopardise continuity of care as well as the ability of wellbeing services counties to allocate their resources.

  ”Terveydenhuollossa vallitseva henkilöstöpula on hoitoonpääsyn ja potilaiden oikeuksien toteutumisen kannalta keskeisin ongelma, jota tulee lievittää mahdollisimman nopeasti.”

• Finns PartyIn favour

  Due to shortages of doctors and nurses, 14-day access to care is an adequate and realistic solution in the current situation, providing much-needed flexibility for organising services.

  ”Mutta on ihan hyvä tämä ratkaisu, että 14 vuorokauteen kuitenkin pääsee.”

• Swedish People's PartyIn favour

  Postponing the tightening of the care guarantee is necessary due to staff shortages, while access to healthcare is supported by other means, such as utilising Kela reimbursements.

  ”Kuitenkin kaikkien tavoitteena on se yksi ja sama: se, että jokainen suomalainen pääsisi hoitoon tämän perusterveydenhuollon hoitotakuun puitteissa.”

• Social DemocratsAgainst

  Weakening the care guarantee shifts the treatment backlog to specialised medical care and jeopardises equal access to care for citizens, even though a one-week care guarantee would be achievable with investment.

  ”Täten esitän, että lakiehdotukset hylätään ja että eduskunta hyväksyy vastalauseen 1 mukaiset neljä lausumaehdotusta.”

• Centre PartyIn favour with reservations

  Retaining the care guarantee at 14 days is justified due to staff shortages, but the Government's simultaneous cuts to funding for wellbeing services counties are considered irresponsible.

  ”Keskusta pitää siksi perusteltuna hallituksen esitystä kiireettömän hoitoonpääsyn määräajan säilyttämisestä 14 vuorokaudessa.”

• Left AllianceAgainst

  This is a cut to public primary healthcare that will increase the need for more expensive specialised services and favour private providers at the expense of the public service system.

  ”Meillä on käsillä leikkausesitys, jolla elintärkeästä julkisesta perusterveydenhuollosta leikataan 33 miljoonaa euroa vuodessa vuoden 26 tasossa.”

This digest was generated by AI from 22 speeches 13 Sep 2026. Group positions are read from the speeches, not from votes; quotations were checked verbatim against the record.