Changes as an Opportunity
The new Western Uusimaa Wellbeing Services County Disability Services organisation has now been operating for more than six months. How has the transfer to the Wellbeing Services County gone, what is going on in service production, and what are the plans for the future?
The transfer to the new Wellbeing Services County brought together the disability services of different municipalities and special care joint municipal authorities (Eteva and Kårkulla). This increased the number of our own service production units significantly.
– Our service production mainly includes housing services and work and day activity services. We have about 50 of these units, spread fairly evenly across our whole area. Units for Swedish-speaking clients are mostly located in the Raseborg area, says Lena Astala, service line manager for the Western Uusimaa Wellbeing Services County’s Disability Services.
The Wellbeing Services County has, according to Astala, introduced many new operational practices and systems into the daily work of our operational units.
– These changes have demanded a lot of learning, patience, and flexibility from our staff. Some new practices are now well-established, but there are still many administrative processes being reformed.
Astala says that various initiatives are starting in Disability Services to support the development of uniform and consistent practices.
– Right now, in our operational units, we are updating self-monitoring plans that explain our principles related to the quality and safety of our operations.
Astala notes that, despite the increase in service production, the disability services face challenges in ensuring enough service availability.
– Previous assessments have shown that client numbers and service needs are growing steadily every year. Key factors slowing down the development of new service production include the low availability of social and healthcare professionals and the slow speed of construction processes. We are collaborating intensively with various partners to improve service availability.
Enriched Service Production
Astala points out that the creation of wellbeing services counties is mainly an administrative reform, with initial impacts affecting the staff a lot.
– With the new organisation, we have gained many new operational practices, colleagues, and collaborative partners. Building new networks takes time, but from what I have observed, cooperation between different service areas and professional groups is already evident.
Astala regrets that changes in administrative processes may have been noticeable to clients and service providers, for example, in the form of delays in service availability, purchases, and billing. Efforts are being made to address these challenges.
– The effects of the change seem to have been smaller for the daily operations of our units. Our goal was that this change would not affect the services of clients, and based on feedback, we have mostly succeeded. I want to thank our staff for their amazing work, Astala continues.
Overall, with the creation of the Wellbeing Services County, service production has improved with good practices and new modes of operation.
– The digital unit moved over from Eteva and FIXtv made in Kårkulla are great examples of this. As an optimist, I see change as an opportunity and believe that with good collaboration, our clients will appreciate the winds of change and benefit from our evolving and inclusive operations, Astala concludes.