HUS year 2023: Patient care
The greatest change in patient care happened at the beginning of the year under review with the relocation of 23 patient care units to the Bridge Hospital and the new facilities of the Comprehensive Cancer Center on the Meilahti campus.
- Access to specialist medical care remained problematic, but towards the end of the year we managed to reverse the negative trend in waiting times in several specialties.
- In 2023, we treated a total of 691.702 patients in HUS specialist medical care and at emergency departments.
- The number of emergency department visits and childbirths decreased on the previous year.
- The number of referrals for elective treatment increased by 5.2%.
Patient care in figures
In 2023, we treated a total of 691.702 patients in HUS specialist medical care and at joint emergency departments. We received nearly 600,000 items of customer feedback during the year under review; the NPS score for HUS as a whole has increased from 64 to 79 between 2020 and 2023.
Access to treatment and waiting times
Access to specialist medical care remained difficult in 2023. This was due to the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on the entire health care chain and the reduced availability of personnel.
Laboratories and imaging
In 2023, service production of the Diagnostic Center grew, and waiting times for imaging examinations decreased. In 2023, coronavirus testing was transferred to normal diagnostics as extensive population testing was discontinued.
Quality and patient safety
In 2023, we published a Quality Manual and launched a HUS-wide ISO 9001 Quality System project. We improved operations with safety event reports and highlighted best practices through the PosiPro system.
Bridge Hospital opened – Töölö Hospital closed
We welcomed the first patients to the new facilities of the Comprehensive Cancer Center at the beginning of January and to the Bridge Hospital at the end of January. Units were relocated to the Bridge Hospital in stages around the turn of February, while patient care at Töölö Hospital was discontinued. The Bridge Hospital accommodates orthopedics, traumatology and neurosurgery patients.
Read more about new hospitals and their inauguration:
- New facilities of the Comprehensive Cancer Center opened to patients (in Finnish)
- Bridge Hospital opened to patients – Töölö Hospital closed
- Bridge Hospital – planned together (in Finnish)
- RAPTOR suite: When every minute counts (in Finnish)
- CT-guided operating room procedure performed for the first time at the Bridge Hospital (in Finnish)
- Finland’s first intraoperative MRI performed at the Bridge Hospital (in Finnish)
Other major events in 2023
Following the national health and social services reform, we were assigned the demanding services of the Eteva joint municipal authority, including inpatient and outpatient services in psychiatric care for patients with intellectual disabilities.
Read more about our medical care for patients with intellectual disabilities
The bridge collapse that occurred in Tapiola in Espoo in May triggered a major accident alert at HUS. A total of 24 patients were treated at our hospitals.
Read more about care for people injured in the bridge collapse (in Finnish)
Another serious incident occurred in March when a fire broke out at the tunnel level on the Meilahti hospital campus, resulting in electricity distribution issues in the properties on the campus.
Read more about the fire on the Meilahti campus (in Finnish)
Early in the year under review, codes for rare diseases obtained from Orphanet, the European online resource for rare diseases, were imported into the Apotti system through the collaboration of HUS, THL and Apotti, for the first time in Finland.