Language is the common thread

18.3.2021 10.40Updated: 8.10.2021 12.23

Do you receive social and health services in the language of your choice? Do you feel comfortable asking for service in your own language? The way people perceive the current state of Swedish-language services varies greatly from municipality to municipality. In the coming wellbeing services county of Western Uusimaa, we offer equal client service in Finnish and Swedish, or if possible, even more languages. Perhaps you wonder how this will be done.

The right attitude and careful preparation

So, this is what our strategy looks like:

The language question is not just a statutory issue that must be taken into account. We take language into account because we truly believe it makes a difference. The ability to communicate in your own emotive language has a direct impact on the success of care. And good care is our ultimate goal.

Now, during the preparation stage, the language questions is a common thread in all our projects. We are now ensuring that all digital systems function equally regardless of language, that computer systems take into account both the client’s service language and the staff’s linguistic skills in order to be able to guide clients according to their language, that language is one of our quality meters and that both physical and digital service paths are created also in Swedish. The fact that the language aspect is included in the very beginning guarantees that the Swedish language will not be lost when the services are further developed and extended.

What does this mean in practice? 

For most services, the goal is to create solutions in either two or more languages. However, the more specific the services in question are, the smaller the group of clients involved and the greater the lack of qualified Swedish-speaking staff, the more we strive to find special solutions. This mainly has to do with services that are currently difficult to provide in Swedish, but which we want to be able to offer also in Swedish in the future. Examples include psychiatric care, some forms of social care and certain support services, especially those provided to families with children and young people, and memory therapy for the elderly. 

With ten municipalities from Espoo to Hanko involved, we gain a larger Swedish-speaking population, and thus have the opportunity, for example, to create teams that are responsible for the Swedish-speaking client groups of a particular service. We will be able to make full use of the staff’s linguistic skills instead of fighting for the Swedish-speaking staff. Through cooperation, we will be able to build uniform service paths also in Swedish and thereby improve our Swedish-language services. Cooperation with the third sector and other care providers will also play a major role. 

You may wonder if this means that you will have to travel further to gain services in Swedish. As a rule, no. In the future, we will offer services in a more versatile way: through regular appointments, mobile services, remote services and self-care. We are currently investigating which forms are best suited for which services. The goal is to create better and more equal services throughout the area, with focus on preventive care.

Discussion on services in Swedish now open in Ideal Social and Health Services Community

There are challenges ahead, but we have the right will and attitude. In our residents’ forum, the Ideal Social and Health Services community, we have opened a discussion on Swedish-language services. Log in and share your experiences.

We look forward to hearing from you!

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