Complaint, official complaint and injury
If you are dissatisfied with your treatment or care, you have a legal right to submit a complaint to the director responsible for the unit where you were treated. The director will investigate the issue and provide a written response.
Complaint
If you are dissatisfied with your treatment or care, you can file a complaint to the director of your treatment unit.
With underage patients, the legal guardian files the complaint. An underage person can file a complaint when he or she is 15 years old. The ombudsman can also help with filing the complaint, and in this case the patient's power of attorney or some other credentials must be appended to the complaint.
in the case of deceased patients, the next of kin or relatives can file the complaint.
There is no deadline for filing a complaint. However, in order to facilitate the investigation, it is good to file the complaint within a reasonable time period following the events leading to the complaint. The hospital staff, especially the patient ombudsman, will assist with filing the complaint when necessary.
A complaint can be filed in the form of an open letter as long as it clearly indicates that it is a complaint and not feedback. The recipient addresses are following:
- Tampereen yliopistollinen sairaala, Kirjaamo, PL 2000, 33521 Tampere
- Tays Valkeakoski, johtava lääkäri, Salonkatu 24, 37600 Valkeakoski
- Tays Sastamala, johtava lääkäri, PL 64, 38201 Vammala
The director of the treatment unit will provide a written decision on the matter, describing the possible actions to be carried out based on the complaint. It is not possible to complain about the decision.
Official complaint
If you are dissatisfied with the decision on a complaint given by the director of the treatment unit, you can file an official complaint to health care regulatory authorities, such as the regional state administrative agency (aluehallintovirasto) in your area or the National Supervisory Authority for Welfare and Health (Valvira), or the Parliamentary Ombudsman. Their recommendation is to first file a complaint to the treatment unit.
Patient injury
If you suspect that a patient injury has occurred in treatment, you can submit a claim to the Patient Insurance Centre in order to receive possible compensation. Compensation must be claimed within three years from the time that the claimant has received information of the injury or should have known about the injury.
The Patient Insurance Centre takes care of compensation for patient injuries that have taken place in Finland. Based on the Patient Injuries Act, it decides whether the injury is compensable under Patient Insurance. The Patient Insurance Centre is an insurance institution, and it only processes issues related to insurance.
Pharmaceutical injury
You can claim compensation from the Pharmaceutical Injuries Insurance if a drug you have taken has caused unexpected adverse effects- Compensation processing begins by filling in the injury report form and submitting it by mail to the Finnish Mutual Insurance Company for Pharmaceutical Injury Indemnities.
The compensation claim must be presented within three years after the claimant received information about the injury caused by a drug. The claim must be presented at the latest within 10 years after the patient has stopped taking the drug.
Material damage or loss
As a general rule, you are responsible for your personal possessions in the hospital. See for more information about what to bring along. The hospital may, however, make compensation for lost or damaged property if you because of your medical condition have been unable to take care of it, or if the loss is due to a staff member's mistake or neglect. Possessions that typically will be compensated are necessary aids such as eyeglasses or dentures.
If you propably lost your possessions yourself, the hospital is nor liable for compensation. Also, the hospital will not assume responsibility, if your possessions have been lost or damaged due to necessary medical procedures.