Finland - Posti eyes additional service offering: healthcare

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In the future the postman may ring twice, as the Finnish postal service Posti announced on Friday that it has plans to expand its home delivery options to include healthcare services.

In a changing economy, the Finnish postal service sees opportunity in markets beyond mail delivery.

Posti is currently eyeing the home services sector and considering both hiring healthcare workers and training current staff to carry out tasks related to eldercare, for example.

Petri Kokkonen, who was named director of Posti's new home services division on May 4, says that as the company already delivers meals in more than 100 municipalities, it would be logical to expand its offerings by having carriers step inside to heat up and serve food to elderly or disabled customers.

"As we're at already at our customer's door, it makes sense to offer other services at the same time," said Kokkonen.

According to Posti, such a service would free up municipalities to better focus on their core tasks.

Healthcare union surprised by Posti's plans

However, not everyone is excited by the new idea, which follows Posti's recent announcement in April that it will include lawn care in its service portfolio.

Silja Paavola, chair of the Finnish Union of practical nurses and healthcare professionals or SuPer, says she was very surprised to hear about Posti's plans. Paavola emphasised the importance of education, skills and experience. She says that nursing is a skill that cannot be outsourced to just anybody.

"The question is about education and experience, which are important. These are professional jobs," says Paavola.