At the end of May, a new mobile nurse service was launched in Helsinki. The service was launched by the Social Services and Health Care Division and Service Centre Helsinki. It allows a mobile nurse to visit clients at nursing homes, providing them with quick help and decreasing unnecessary visits to emergency services. Thus, the nursing home resident can be treated at their own nursing home for various acute health-related conditions.
“If a resident’s well-being deteriorates quickly, the nursing home’s care worker will contact the doctor on call. A doctor will always assess the resident’s condition and issue a treatment decision. If necessary, a mobile nurse will be called for a visit. The nurse is an acute care professional and can provide treatment at the nursing home, in an environment that is safe and familiar to the client,” says Medical Director Laura Pikkarainen from Helsinki Hospital’s social services and health care division.
The service has now been available for little over two weeks. It has gone well and the reception has been positive.
“Of course, we are only getting started, but it seems clear that the visits of a mobile nurse have supported the nursing staff. The residents have been happy, too, as providing them with help in the familiar nursing home environment has been possible in most cases. Creating a new service has also been an inspiring opportunity for our medical professionals,” says Service Manager of Nursing Services Taina Nevalainen from Service Centre Helsinki.
For now, the mobile nurse service is only available at weekends, but extending the service is already being planned.
“In the future, we plan to extend the service to cover weekday evenings and we also want to include it in home care services,” says Pikkarainen from the social services and health care division.
