Global Clinic in Turku is staffed by health care professionals who provide their expertise on a voluntary basis. Their target customers are persons who don’t have access to public health care in Finland.
“This is primarily a human rights question. There’s a group of people in Finland who can’t get any kind of health care services,” said nursing professional Anna Napola.
The clinic hopes to be able to diagnose and treat possible infectious diseases as well as other health conditions.
Just over one dozen volunteers run the clinic. They represent a wide cross section of health care professionals: doctors, nurses, occupational therapists, physiotherapists and psychotherapists. The Deaconess centre of the Turku and Kaarina parishes provides financial support for the centre's operations.
“We offer small scale health care services by way of doctors’ and nurses’ examinations. We don’t offer imaging services or lab tests, except for tuberculosis patients,” Napola explained.
The clinic serves patients every other week and while its location is not widely publicised, public officials know where it can be found.
As many as 300 in need in Turku
Similar operations exist in Helsinki and Oulu. The Helsinki Global Clinic opened its doors in April 2011, and treated 180 patients within its first year.
While the Turku clinic was only recently opened, it is estimated that about 300 people in the area may need its services.
“Estimates put the number of undocumented immigrants in Turku at a few dozen, fewer than 100 in any case. If we consider immigrants with B-class residence permits, the number rises to about 300. Persons with B-permits don’t have domiciled rights and therefore don’t have access to services such as health care,” Napola added.
A person can become an undocumented immigrant for a number of reasons, for example if an application for asylum is denied. Such cases force many individuals underground, where they live without proper documentation or access to basic services.
People living underground in Finland often face many difficulties and may end up working on the black market or become victims of human trafficking or prostitution.
