With the war in Ukraine entering its fourth year, Finland is moving to strengthen its healthcare infrastructure.
Hospital operations are being made relocatable, buildings reinforced against attacks and medicine stockpiles expanded. To make this happen, roughly 100 million euros is being allocated for wellbeing counties in the state's third supplementary budget.
The reforms, prompted by lessons from Russia's war in Ukraine, aim to make hospitals and critical health services more resilient.
In practice, this can mean moving hospital operations below ground.
"The war has shown that hospitals and other healthcare services are not protected from military strikes — they can be targets," said Pekka Tulokas, an emergency manager at the preparedness unit working under the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health.
Moving forward, greater attention will also be paid to the impact resistance of buildings in the future, particularly when it comes to new hospital construction.
Details, however, remain classified, according to Tulokas.
Wartime training for staff
At the same time, wellbeing service counties are expected to direct additional resources to emergency care and train staff to operate in wartime conditions.
"Our public healthcare system is preparing to support the Defence Forces, the Border Guard, and allied troops. Finland's Nato membership has brought new requirements for medical capabilities in exceptional circumstances," Tulokas explained.
Finland no longer has its old military hospital network, with the last facility, Tilkka in Helsinki, closing 20 years ago. As a result, care for the wounded would need to be provided across 21 healthcare counties in addition to the Helsinki and Uusimaa hospital district (HUS) in the event of a war.
"The intention is not to alarm the public. Citizens can remain confident in their safety."
Attacks on hospitals and healthcare workers have increased year by year in conflicts around the world.
According to the Safeguarding Health in Conflict (SHCC) coalition, healthcare facilities were targeted over 3,600 times in global conflict zones in 2024, while more than 900 healthcare workers were killed.
