Wellbeing services county of North Karelia – Siun sote reminds residents that during the Christmas and New Year period, non-urgent matters and prescription renewals are handled through health stations, while emergency care is reserved for urgent patients. The joint emergency clinic provides care only for sudden illnesses, worsening chronic conditions, and accidents.

If your nearest health station is closed for the holidays, residents of the wellbeing services county may visit any Siun sote health station. Information about the exceptional opening hours of health stations during Christmas and New Year can be found on Siun sote’s website at Ex­cep­tions to ope­ning hours. Residents can also use digital services on weekdays regardless of their location.

Before heading to the emergency clinic, residents must call the free national medical helpline at 116117. This helpline offers guidance and advice on urgent health issues. A licensed healthcare professional assesses the caller's condition, provides home care instructions, and directs the patient to the joint emergency clinic or another healthcare unit based on the urgency. If the helpline does not answer immediately, you can leave a callback request, and the service will respond as soon as possible, always within the same day.

In life-threatening situations, such as severe chest pain, difficulty breathing, unconsciousness, stroke symptoms, or sudden seizures, you should always call the emergency number 112.

The emergency clinic provides care only for urgent cases that require immediate examinations and treatment. Such cases include:

• Profuse bleeding from a wound
• Accidents or fractures
• Heavy nosebleeds 
• Abdominal pain
• Severe acute pain
• Strong allergic reactions
• A sudden decline in general health

In urgent situations, you can go directly to the emergency clinic if you cannot reach the helpline in a reasonable time or if calling is not possible. If another healthcare unit has issued an emergency referral, you do not need to call the helpline and can go directly to the joint emergency clinic.

Prescription renewal requests are recommended to be submitted primarily through the MyKanta service at www.kanta.fi.