The move will see the merger of East Tallinn Central Hospital, West Tallinn Central Hospital, Tallinn Ambulance Service, Tallinn Dental Clinic, and Tallinn Children's Hospital.

Mayor of Tallinn Jevgeni Ossinovski (SDE) said the agreement was made with hospital directors and a meeting will be held with staff next week.

"The merger will follow a group structure: the hospitals will become subsidiaries of the group," he said.

Speaking about the timeline, he said the final city council meeting will be held on June 12, where the city government hopes to receive a positive decision from the council. Over the summer, the necessary documents will be formalized, and the hospitals are expected to be merged by the end of the year.

The North Estonia Medical Center (PERH) is not among the hospitals to be merged, although the city has made a proposal to the state-owned hospital.

"We have been waiting a long time for the state's decision. In December, we were promised the government would discuss it, then in January that they would, we cannot wait indefinitely. We have left the door open to the state, and if the government makes a decision, we can also bring PERH into this group structure," said the mayor.

Ossinovski again emphasized the need for a new medical campus. Integrating PERH would require the state to also participate in building Tallinn Hospital.

"PERH's financial situation is difficult, while Tallinn's hospitals are in good shape. This is partly because we have postponed investments in anticipation of building the new hospital complex. If PERH joins the group, we must be sure that our money will not go toward repaying loans taken out for PERH's investments. We've offered the state various financial solutions for how to proceed with the merger," he said.

"This is undoubtedly within the state's means and there is no alternative to a new hospital. It does not make sense to keep patching up old, deteriorated hospital buildings; a new one must be built. The city will move forward with designing the new campus. Fully renovating the old hospitals would cost €600 million, while building the new campus would cost €800 million," said the mayor.

"We see no alternative to the new medical campus, and the state confirms this as well," Ossinovski stressed. "But the city cannot shoulder this investment alone, and it is important that the state come on board."

In the first stage of the hospital merger, nothing will change in the hospitals' daily operations. Going forward, the new group will begin substantive consolidation.

"What exactly will be done substantively is certainly not a political decision. That must be agreed upon by the heads of the healthcare institutions. Support services will be consolidated first, such as IT, financial services, and human resources management. That's where savings can be achieved, and later this could also extend to clinical work. We aim for a uniform quality of services, and this is also necessary preparation for establishing Tallinn Hospital," Ossinovski said.

When asked by a journalist whether opposition to Tallinn Hospital might be related to its location in Lasnamäe, the mayor said there are no fundamental problems with the location.

"Lasnamäe is a large district. If one campus is in Mustamäe, then it is logical for the other complex to be on the opposite side of the city. A hospital requires a 20-hectare plot, and there is not much municipal land like that available. This location is also close enough to the city center, behind the Song Festival Grounds, not somewhere deep in Lasnamäe," Ossinovski said.

--

Follow ERR News on Facebook and Twitter and never miss an update!