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Brief facts about Helsinki

SOCIAL AFFAIRS AND PUBLIC HEALTH

Social Affairs and Public Health is the largest sector of services provided by the City. This sector affects practically every resident of Helsinki and accounts for more than half of the City's employees. It comprises children's day care, care for the elderly and the entire municipal health care system. Helsinki provides day care for all pre-school children. Most children attend activities at day-care centres, but parents also have the option of receiving financial support to help them care for children under the age of three at home. Due to the long maternity leave to which women are statutorily entitled, most children under the age of one are cared for at home.

Care for the elderly and services for the handicapped include:
- housing services and homes for the elderly
- service and recreation centres
- home-help services
- transport assistance

The public health care system includes
- maternity and children's clinics
- dental clinics
- mental health clinics
- school nurses and doctors
- various hospital services

Municipal health centres provide residents of Helsinki with services either free of charge or on payment of very moderate fees.

A central current goal is to accomplish a complete overhaul of health care services. In particular, efforts are being made to balance the overall structure by strengthening the availability of basic services on an outpatient basis, at the same time reducing the relative shares of special medical treatment and institutional care. Work towards this end was done during the year by developing the division of labour with the Helsinki University Central Hospital, which produces special health services, as well as by putting cooperation in the field of social affairs and public health on a more effective footing, especially where services for the elderly were concerned.

Central challenges on the social affairs side relate to ensuring that the residents of Helsinki are provided with statutory basic services and a minimum level of livelihood. The features emphasised in services are preventive measures, customer-centricity, flexibility and efficiency.