Wellbeing services counties have introduced over 600 new operating models to speed up access to care, streamline services and expand the opportunities for using digital services. These reforms were implemented under the Sustainable Growth Programme for Finland.
Significant EU development funding worth EUR 381 million enabled the counties to carry out systematic development work that would otherwise have been beyond their capacity during the first years of operation.
The development work launched under the Future Health and Social Services Centres programme was continued, and the measures were coordinated with the health and social services reform.
The implementation of projects funded through the programme ended in late 2025. The project results have been compiled in a comprehensive final report covering service development, skills and competence development, improved effectiveness and digital service provision.
The results of the programme are based on exceptionally extensive cooperation. The counties developed their services side by side, learning from one another along the way. Best practices have also spread to other areas. The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health and the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) have guided and supported this consistent development work in the counties.
The wellbeing services counties received funding for the development of health and social services at exactly the right time when their operations were still in the early stages and the need for development support was considerable. The results have been positive: in many counties, access to care is now faster than before, and digital solutions have been successfully deployed across a wide range of service areas. Many counties worked closely together within their collaborative areas for healthcare and social welfare, and this was recognised as essential for introducing shared operating models and harmonising digital solutions in the future, too.
Minna Saario, Director General at the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health
As a result of the development work, access to care has become faster and seeking services easier than before. At the same time, cooperation between healthcare and social welfare professionals has improved through the development and introduction of new forms of mutual consultation. In practice, multiprofessional cooperation can now take place via chat, video, telephone or traditional face-to-face meetings.
“Consultation between professionals is a client-friendly way of working that reduces the need to transfer clients from one service to another and supports the continuity of care,” says Anu Vähäniemi, Project Manager at the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare.
The development of shared service chains in healthcare and social welfare has shifted the focus towards providing support to clients at an earlier stage. When support is provided at the right time, the risk of a client’s situation or condition worsening or becoming chronic is reduced.
Of the new operating models, 75 per cent included digital services. Previously fragmented digital service provision has become more consistent and has expanded to cover entire wellbeing services counties. The use of digital services has increased significantly across the whole health and social services system. For clients, this means new service options alongside in-person services.
For professionals, digital tools have made working practices more flexible. Remote appointments and digital service channels make it possible to interact with clients without physical presence. At the same time, this requires new skills from both citizens and professionals, as well as the continuous development of digital capabilities.
The preconditions for knowledge-based management have improved significantly at both regional and national levels. The development work has produced 76 information management models for practical use. These can be used to harmonise professional recording practices, promote the electronic booking of appointments and the collection of client feedback and support the design of a national data structure for monitoring care.
Greater consistency and comparability of recorded information improve knowledge-based management. This is particularly evident in social welfare where the quality and coverage of data have improved. For the first time, it has been possible to obtain information on client numbers in social welfare services across the country.
Service development and guidance have become more effective. The tools developed for all counties, such as the anticipation of the population’s need for services and the maturity assessment of digital services, will continue to support knowledge-based management in the counties also in the future.
From the outset, the development work has aimed to produce tried and tested solutions that would remain in use. During the project period, the senior management of the wellbeing services counties established many new operating models as standard practice, which are also supported by information systems.
The solutions resulting from the development work have been documented and published on the Innovillage service platform. This enables the counties to make use of the lessons learned, adopt the operating models and continue the development work after the end of the programme.
The Sustainable Growth Programme for Finland was funded from the EU recovery instrument, NextGenerationEU, to support the development work of the new wellbeing services counties in 2022–2025.
The programme’s key objectives were to speed up access to care and services, reduce the service backlog, increase the introduction of digital services and strengthen cost-effectiveness and the use of data. The projects paid particular attention to services for vulnerable client groups.
Funding for the period 2021–2025 was provided through the EU Recovery and Resilience Facility. The total funding for the programme in the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health’s branch of government was EUR 381 million. The funding was allocated to counties in five separate application rounds for discretionary government grants.
