Children's Hospital will not be merged with other Tallinn hospitals
When East Tallinn Central Hospital and West Tallinn Central Hospital merge under the joint institution Tallinn Hospital by 2028, Tallinn Children's Hospital — which was also initially set to join the organization — will remain independent.
Tallinn has announced that, under the city's newly formulated ownership expectations, the consolidation process for Tallinn Hospital will be carried out in stages, with the first phase focusing on merging East Tallinn Central Hospital (ITK) and West Tallinn Central Hospital (LTKH) by the beginning of 2028. Tallinn Ambulance Service and Tallinn Dental Clinic will also be incorporated into the group structure at the same time.
The possible inclusion of Tallinn Children's Hospital in the Tallinn Hospital group has been postponed to the future and, according to the city, has deliberately been put on hold for now.
"This decision may not be final, but under the current circumstances we believe it would not be reasonable to rush the process in sync with Tallinn's hospital consolidation plan. Questions related to Tallinn Children's Hospital require additional analysis, more data and thorough discussions with the hospital's management in order to make a decision that best serves the interests of children in Tallinn and Northern Estonia," Deputy Mayor Riina Solman (Isamaa) told ERR.
"For this reason, Tallinn Children's Hospital is not currently included on the list of institutions to be merged and the merger notification that AS Tallinn Hospital will submit to the Competition Authority does not include the children's hospital. The city government's top priorities are the quality of care, children's health and the sense of security and support provided to families," Solman added.
Social Affairs Minister Karmen Joller (Reform) has previously said she supports merging the state-owned North Estonia Medical Centre (PERH) with Tallinn Children's Hospital. The two are located side by side.
"Tallinn Children's Hospital and PERH are tied together at the hip. Many PERH doctors support the children's hospital in providing medical services and vice versa. I would like to see PERH and Tallinn Children's Hospital merge, but naturally we need to discuss this with Tallinn City Government and hear what their plans are," Joller said. At the time, Solman's position was that if the state wanted the hospital, it should buy it from the city.
Doctors at the children's hospital themselves believe that the Mustamäe medical campus should include a maternity hospital alongside the regional hospital and the children's hospital, since a hospital network spread across the city is not in patients' best interests.
The city's broader objectives for AS Tallinn Hospital state that the group will organize healthcare services provided by its subsidiaries in a way that ensures more effective management and coordination, optimal use of resources and the provision of high-quality services.
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Editor: Marcus Turovski
