Reijo
Grönfors
Southwest Finland
"Strengthening primary healthcare, the own doctor model, and equal healthcare services in both of our national languages. More mobile services and digital solutions. Work well-being should be improved."
I am a 72-year-old specialist in internal medicine, married, and a father of three adult sons. I enjoy spending time in nature. I am a passionate cyclist and also an amateur cook. I have over 35 years of experience in specialized healthcare, both as a practicing physician and in administrative work as the Chief Physician and CEO of Turunmaa Hospital.
Important political topics
Accessible health care
The position of primary healthcare must be strengthened. Waiting times for non-urgent care must be shortened. Access to care should be implemented equally in both of our domestic languages in both primary healthcare and specialized medical care.
Candidates answers in election machine
1 / 14
Is the Kaskisbacken Health Center (formerly Åboland Hospital) needed?
Care in one\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s own mother tongue is a right, not a privilege. The Kaskenmäki SOTE Center can continue the legacy of Turku University Hospital as a guarantor of healthcare services in the patient\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s mother tongue.
2 / 14
Should Varha increase the language supplement (Swedish language) for employees?
Fluent use of both national languages is a significant quality and safety factor in healthcare, and the appreciation of good language skills should also be reflected in the amount of the language supplement.
3 / 14
Should Varha invest more in professional firefighting services than in voluntary ones?
Contract fire brigades and voluntary fire brigade activities, as well as voluntary maritime rescue operations, are important and play a crucial role in ensuring Finland\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s rescue services, especially in sparsely populated areas.
4 / 14
There should be more mobile services, such as health buses and remote consultations.
In Southwest Finland, there are areas, particularly in the Åboland archipelago, where distances are long and travel times can be remarkably extended. To ensure equitable care, these services are very important.
5 / 14
Wellbeing services counties must increase investments in preventive healthcare, even if it means that other types of care receive fewer resources.
The law provides that the responsibility for preventive care is shared between well-being areas and municipalities. Well-being areas must ensure that preventive care is seamlessly integrated into the entire health service system, maintaining high quality and accessibility for all residents. At the same time, municipalities retain certain responsibilities—especially regarding primary care and locally tailored public health initiatives. While well-being areas have the final responsibility for the general structure and standards of preventive care, municipalities continue to play a key role in implementing preventive measures at the local level.
6 / 14
A personal doctor system should be introduced to improve continuity of care, even if it requires extra resources for a while.
Strengthening primary care in the form of a personal doctor, personal doctor–nurse pairs, and teams is very well justified. It has been empirically demonstrated that this yields several benefits: the continuity and quality of care improve, customer satisfaction increases, and the model can reduce unnecessary specialist visits and the need for hospital care, which can also lead to cost savings and more efficient use of resources. When a patient’s care is continuous and they have a familiar care team, the preventive and health-promoting nature of care improves. This can reduce the worsening of illnesses and improve quality of life. According to studies, this model can therefore promote patient safety, quality of care, and healthcare efficiency.
7 / 14
Wellbeing services counties should prohibit the use of temporary agency doctors.
The goal should be that there is no need for hired doctors, but if the availability of care is seriously threatened, this option must also be maintained.
8 / 14
More shelter spaces should be established to help individuals subjected to violence.
Cooperation between authorities and the third sector must also be strengthened to effectively meet the needs of victims of violence.
9 / 14
To shorten waiting times, wellbeing services counties should increase the use of service vouchers.
The public sector is responsible for organizing social and healthcare services, but the private and third sectors complement these services. With the help of service vouchers, the capacity of the private and third sectors can be utilized to reduce treatment queues and improve service accessibility.
10 / 14
Healthcare should be centralized if it saves money or improves quality.
Language rights must be safeguarded, and care should not be centralized in a way that weakens linguistic services. However, centralization is justified when qualitative factors clearly support it.
11 / 14
Funding and resources for rescue services should be prioritized higher, even if it means cuts in other sectors.
Ensuring bilingual services is important even for the rescue services. The financing of rescue services is a complex issue that requires careful balancing in the allocation of resources between different sectors.
12 / 14
Undocumented migrants should have the right to non-urgent healthcare.
13 / 14
More emphasis should be placed on training healthcare staff in gender diversity and sexual diversity.
Equality and fairness should be promoted in society.
14 / 14
If you could give a superpower to your future political leader, what would it be?
Stopping climate change is crucial in order to leave a habitable planet for future generations.