Waiting times and client satisfaction

The time within which you must get access to non-urgent care and treatment is laid down in law. Measuring client experience provides us with information on the functionality of our services.
Photo: Laura Oja

Treatment time guarantee

The Health Care Act outlines the timeframe within which you must get access to non-urgent care. This is called the treatment time guarantee.

You should be able to reach primary health care services, such as health stations and dental care, on weekdays during office hours on the same day of your initial contact. A health care professional should also assess your treatment need on the same day you have made contact. 

In Helsinki, you can contact primary health care services through digital channels.

  • The Sotebotti Hester chatbot is available 24/7 to answer questions about Helsinki’s health and social services. If needed, it can connect you with a health station professional via chat on weekdays from 9.00–14.00.
    Sotebotti Hester on the website of health and social services
  • If you have new or worsening symptoms, the Omaolo symptom assessment tool is available for self-assessment. It provides guidance, instructions, and, if necessary, connects you with a health care professional.  
  • Additionally, many services provide a callback option. We respond to callback requests on weekdays on the same day you contact us.
  • For non-urgent matters, you can use the Maisa service. We will respond to you within three working days. 

The treatment time guarantee stipulates that care at a health station should be accessible within 14 days for cases involving illness, injury, worsening of a chronic condition, new symptoms, or decreased functional capacity. This maximum waiting time does not apply to tasks such as obtaining certificates or medical statements, health examinations, or follow-up visits. In other cases, you should receive care within a reasonable timeframe, but no later than three months, or as outlined in a treatment or rehabilitation plan. 

Dental care should be accessible within four months. We primarily offer service vouchers to adult clients. 

If tests indicate that you require hospital care, specialised health care services must assess your situation within three weeks of your case being referred to the hospital, and treatment must be provided to you within six months. 

If you require urgent treatment, you can go to an emergency service point for immediate first aid and treatment. 

Waiting times at the City of Helsinki’s services

Our health stations offer a callback service. In August 2023, the average time it took for us to call our clients back was 7 hours and 7 minutes. Due to different reporting methods, we have not been able to include callbacks from Kalasatama, Ruoholahti and Kannelmäki in the calculation of this average.

We usually assess the need for treatment immediately either by phone or in person at the location, which is why the waiting time for an assessment is less than three days. More than half of our clients who need a doctor's assessment will be assessed at the doctor's office on the same day. 

We use the ‘T3 indicator’ to monitor the wait for non-urgent doctor’s and nurse’s appointments. These waits are counted in calendar days, based on the third available appointment time slot. A health station’s T3 indicator is the median of these waiting times. The T3 measurement does not include urgent treatment or emergency reception. 

At Kivikko Health Station, a new operational model is being tested with the objective of enhancing timely access to non-urgent care at Helsinki's health stations. This initiative is in line with the requirement that, starting from September, clients should receive non-urgent care within a two-week time frame.

During the trial period, Kivikko Health Station will not be accepting new clients, except for individuals who have relocated to the area. If you wish, you can choose to visit any other Helsinki health station.

T3 waiting times in days for doctors at health stations
Health station 3 July 2023 1 August 2023 4 September 2023
Haaga 49 32 20
Jakomäki 30 17 30
Kalasatama 55 42 46
Kannelmäki* 11 24 12
Kivelä 28 29 28
Kivikko 7 9 10
Kontula 31 31 32
Laajasalo 45 44 44
Lauttasaari 20 23 23
Malmi 30 30 13
Malminkartano 42 23 22
Maunula 37 30 43
Munkkiniemi 20 16 19
Myllypuro 43 60 60
Oulunkylä 24 14 17
Paloheinä 37 17 2
Pihlajamäki 25 42 44
Pitäjänmäki 42 48 42
Puistola 21 14 12
Ruoholahti* 10 7 7
Suutarila 39 36 33
Viiskulma 26 30 28
Vuosaari 50 42 42
Average 31 29 27

* = Purchased service from 10/2021.
** = Summer closure 26.6.–30.7.2023: Jakomäki appointments in Malmi, Malminkartano appointments in Pitäjänmäki and Paloheinä appointments in Maunula.

T3 waiting times in days for nurses at health stations
Health station 3 July 2023 1 August 2023 4 September 2023
Haaga 45 34 22
Jakomäki 34 12 12
Kalasatama 36 36 30
Kannelmäki* 1 0 1
Kivelä 28 35 14
Kivikko 11,5 17 30
Kontula 34 16 16
Laajasalo 20 42 46
Lauttasaari 10 10 10
Malmi 34 30 22
Malminkartano 43 10 19
Maunula 18 25 29
Munkkiniemi 16 15 36
Myllypuro 45 34 30
Oulunkylä 15 14 14
Paloheinä 18 22 35
Pihlajamäki 31 19 10
Pitäjänmäki 43 43 38
Puistola 16 16 11
Ruoholahti* 11 18 14
Suutarila 31 24 16
Viiskulma 23 14 31
Vuosaari 17 20 16
Average 25 22 22

* = purchased service from 10/2021* = Purchased service from 10/2021.
** = Summer closure 26.6.–30.7.2023: Jakomäki appointments in Malmi, Malminkartano appointments in Pitäjänmäki and Paloheinä appointments in Maunula.

In oral healthcare, we assess the need for treatment primarily by phone on the same day. Urgent care appointments can be scheduled for the same day.

The COVID-19 epidemic and workforce shortage have placed a burden on oral healthcare services. We are actively working to reduce the treatment backlog in various ways. Currently, there are 4,499 patients in the treatment guarantee queue (as of 4 September 2023). We are currently inviting patients for treatment who contacted us on 30 May 2023, and for whom we were unable to offer an appointment at that time at our own service location or through purchased services, or who opted not to receive a service voucher. For adults, we primarily offer the option of a service voucher to be used at private clinics.

The treatment needs assessment is always carried out by an oral healthcare professional on a case-by-case basis, and if feasible, we can provide a service voucher as an alternative to receiving care at our own service locations. Depending on the service provider, the waiting time for treatment ranges from 1 to 30 days (more information can be found on the Palse.fi website ). The city organises oral healthcare services not only at our own service locations but also through purchased services and service vouchers.

Non-urgent access to care for adults by dental clinic

Non-urgent appointment with a dentist
Dental clinic 1 July 2023 1 August 2023 1 September
Haaga 90 90 90
Herttoniemenranta 90 76 60
Jakomäki 90 90 90
Kalasatama 90 90 90
Kivelä 66 50 90
Kivikko 90 90 90
Kontula 90 90 90
Laajasalo 90 90 50
Lauttasaari 90 90 90
Malmi 90 90 90
Malminkartano 87 71 75
Maunula 90 90 90
Munkkiniemi 90 90 90
Myllypuro 90 90 90
Oulunkylä 90 90 90
Paloheinä 90 90 90
Pihlajamäki 90 90 90
Pitäjänmäki 90 90 86
Porolahti 90 90 68
Puistola 90 90 80,5

Oral and dental center, non-urgent care

 90 90 90
Suutarila 90 90 90
Vironniemi 90 90 90
Vuosaari 90 90 90
Non-urgent appointment with an oral hygienist
Dental clinic 1 July 2023 1 August 2023 1 September
Haaga 90 90 90
Herttoniemenranta 90 90 90
Jakomäki 90 90 90
Kalasatama 90 90 90
Kivelä 90 90 90
Kivikko 90 90 90
Kontula 90 90 90
Laajasalo 90 90 90
Lauttasaari 90 90 90
Malmi 90 90 90
Malminkartano 90 90 90
Maunula 90 90 90
Munkkiniemi 90 90 90
Myllypuro 90 90 90
Oulunkylä 90 90 90
Paloheinä 90 90 90
Pihlajamäki 90 90 90
Pitäjänmäki 90 90 90
Porolahti 90 90 90
Puistola 90 90 90
Oral and dental center, non-urgent care 90 90 90
Suutarila 90 90 90
Vironniemi 90 90 90
Vuosaari 90 90 90

We measure the waiting times for access to social services for the elderly in days and publish the data triannually: on 30 April, 31 August, and 31 December.

Waiting times for access to social services for the elderly on 30 April 2023

Individuals aged over 75 can access a service needs assessment within a legally mandated timeframe of under seven days. The average waiting period is four days.

The waiting period for long-term 24-hour care averages around 16 days, with seven persons waiting for more than three months.

Following a positive decision, home care services can be accessed in less than seven days.

Waiting times for access to social services for the elderly on 30 April 2023
Service needs assessment for those over 75 years of age Provided within less than 7 days. Median: 4 days.
Long-term 24-hour care Median: 16 days. The number of people having waited more than three months: 7.
Home care Service will begin following the decision. Provided within less than 7 days.

Client satisfaction at health stations and dental clinics

We collect client feedback through touch-screen feedback devices at our health stations and dental clinics. Measuring client experience provides us with information on the functionality of our services, and we use the results to develop our operations. 

We monitor client experience with the NPS indicator, for example. NPS (Net Promoter Score) describes the likelihood that clients would recommend our services to others. When the result is positive, the service has more promoters than detractors.

The updated graph shows the monthly NPS results at health centres, outpatient clinics for internal diseases and dental clinics. The results can be viewed in their entirety or unit-specifically. The graph shows only the results that have accumulated more than 20 responses per month.

In Helsinki, diverse social and health care services are often gathered under one roof. When examining the NPS results, it should be taken into account that the feedback devices are located in the lobby of the units. The results may therefore also describe more extensively the activity on the same floor or in the entire building.

NPS is measured by asking the client: “How likely are you to recommend the service to others?” The answer to the question is on a scale of 0 to 10, where 0 = highly unlikely and 10 = highly likely.

Based on the responses, the clients are divided into three groups:

  • Promoters: clients who answer 9 or 10
  • Passives: clients who answer 7 or 8
  • Detractors: clients who answer 0–6

NPS is calculated by subtracting the proportion of detractors (%) from the proportion of promoters (%).

The NPS value can be anything from −100 to +100.

Customer Experience in Social and Health Services (NPS)

Read more

Health Care Act
Act on Supporting the Functional Capacity of the Older Population and on Social and Health Services for Older Persons