Creating hospital ships of the future – the Finnish view

The Covid-19 pandemic has shown the world that health services are not ready to meet health threats of this magnitude. Health services need resilience and agility more than ever. To meet the challenges emerging from the rapidly changing healthcare landscape, Japan is on the verge of building the country's first hospital ship. This initiative has also been noted in Finland, a country with strong ship-building traditions.
In order to bring resilient and agile health services where they are needed the most, the Southwestern Finland created a concept for the next generation hospital ships. These ships, unlike the floating monolith structures of the past, are smaller and modular. They can be brought to areas where the sea level constantly changes, and even to areas where the levels are constantly low. Thanks to their modular design, the next generation hospital ship is not just a hospital. Should a need rise, it can be equipped with a completely different setup, changing the hospital part into a maternity clinic, or even into a school.
While still on a drawing board. The companies operating on the Southwestern Finland are confident that they can bring the vision to life. Companies operating in the region include big shipbuilding companies, such as Meyer Turku Ltd., Rauma Marine Constructions, ship design companies, such as Deltamarin Ltd., and numerous smaller companies that excel in building the required modules. Aspects related to the healthcare services delivery are also in strong hands as the local University hospital leads the cluster of healthcare professionals who look into issues such as resourcing and effective patient flows in different setup scenarios.
The companies of the Southwest Finland and the hospital district are constantly looking for an opportunity to deliver what they have envisioned – and what the end-users need.

For collaboration possibilities contact representatives of HealthTurku cluster.