Doctor recommendations please

[Sarah79]

Can I please get some recommendations for a great English-speaking doctor in the Helsinki area?

I have visited a Kela "health station" once before. I understand that this service is good for day-to-day ailments (I used it to get antibiotics for an infection) but I have a more serious concern that I need addressed. When I visited the Kela doctor I tried speaking to him about it, but he was very frazzled and hurried, and mentioned numerous times how many patients he had to get through. He wanted to send me off to a lab for blood work without any real conversation about my condition, or reading the recommendations from my specialist in Australia. Let's just say I came away feeling not very confident that he was going to give me the level of care that I'm looking for. I am in remission from cancer and need to have checks for recurrence, so you can understand that I'm looking for a doctor who is able to give me some time.

I'm assuming that the Finnish health care system is similar to Australia's - that I can pay to see a private doctor outside of the system, and get a portion reimbursed through Kela.

I'm a Australian-British dual citizen, with a residence permit and Finnish ID number. Any advice appreciated.

[inkku]

Doctors are, as elsewhere, a bit of hit and miss, you never know what you get. Many doctors also work for several big companies, not just one place.

At least Diacor has a good website where they indicate the languages the doctor speaks, their specialization within that field and the fee. Aava is another bid chain. Mehilainen a third one.

I went to see a private doctor a month ago, though I had 20 min consultation, I felt he also did not concentrate much on me. But sometimes it is more psychological.

[atas]

I haven't myself visited a doctor in Finland, but the experience of another person was that they tend to not pay much attention in giving information about your condition, but just checking the basics. And that in contrast to a private doctor in the UK. I believe that you can still find these kind of doctors here, although they may not be the "usual" kind.

[Sarah79]

Thanks for your input. It's interesting that a Google search for doctor recommendations in Helsinki doesn't yield many results, unlike a similar search for doctors in, say, Sydney. Do Finns tend not to stick with the same doctor for repeated visits?

I had a look at the Diacor website, and I'll try to make an appointment with a doctor who has a specialisation in the area I'm after.

[kharnynb]

Finns tend to stick with the doctor that is paid for them, instead of the one they have to pay themselves ;D

Depending on worksituation etc, that can be diacor, meilahti or just the local healthcenter.

[tizlit]

Hello,
Being in a similar situation I can only sympatize with you. The usual health care centers (terveyskeskus) might send you off to a specialist, you could try them again. Tell them it is urgent, usually urgent appointments one has to call at 8am, they give you then an appointment for the same or the next day. Be persistant, otherwise you get nowhere in this matter. this is just my own experience.

I would forget about Mehilainen, has a bad experience with them, useless doctors.

You could call Meilahti Syopakilinikka, which is a special hospital for cancer patients, and try get an appointment there.
Tel: 09 4711. Ask for cancer clinis. They have some good oncologists there believe me and the system works like water, once you are a patient there.
Also check on www.cancer.fi pages.
Good luck!

[Flossy1978]

Many Finns have private healthcare to some degree through their employer. But it's not like Australia. Often only 'certain' things are covered by your employer.

Cancer matters would basically have you ending up in the public sector, rather than the private. Unless you can afford private. And Kela doesn't give you back that much money. So it's going to cost you unless you have private healthcare insurance.

I don't think it's the level of care, per se. I think it's actually the level of customer service which is the biggest issue this country has compared with other countries. It just seems to lack here..... The lack of compassion. Lack of thinking you should please your customer if you want their money...... Lack of interpersonal 'skills'. Nothing against Finns or Finland. But it really does seem to lack here, customer service.

[kharnynb]

Especially in the public sector, there is not push for customer service, and in finland that often means there is no need for customer service.

The doctors are generally good, and everything works, but you really have to know and do everything yourself.

The private "work"doctors are very good at streaming you into the public system at the right spot though, so that really can help a lot.

In case of a specific thing, like cancer, go straight to meilahti and find out the right department to speak to beforehand.