Transfer of patient in emergency medical care at focus of safety investigation

The Safety In­ves­ti­ga­tion Au­thor­ity (OTKES) has launched an in­ves­ti­ga­tion into an ac­ci­dent that oc­curred on 24 De­cem­ber 2025, in which an emer­gency med­ical care pa­tient fell down a stair­case while at­tached to an elec­tric lift chair when be­ing trans­ferred from one place to an­other. As a re­sult of the fall, the pa­tient went un­con­scious and died at the scene de­spite re­sus­ci­ta­tion.

“Transferring patients from home to a place of care, for example, is part of everyday life. The population is ageing, which is also increasing the number of older people living at home. We also have a lot of patients of different sizes that need to be transferred. Patient transfers are routine for emergency medical care staff. The transfer and the equipment used in it must be safe for both patients and the professionals using them,” says Hanna Tiirinki, Investigator in Charge.

The accident occurred in Southwest Finland.

“We offer our deepest condolences to the victim’s loved ones. We are doing everything we can, together with the authorities, to look into the matter and improve the safety of emergency care. Due to the ongoing investigation, we are unable to comment further on the matter, ” says Timo Iirola, Chief Physician of Emergency Care in the Welfare Region.

“In the safety investigation we have launched, we will focus on the practices used in the transfer situations of emergency medical care patients in particular and the patient safety of the devices used in the transfers,” Tiirinki adds.

The Safety Investigation Authority has started collecting material and conducted hearings and interviews.

The purpose of the safety investigation is to improve public safety and prevent new accidents and incidents. Matters of guilt and liability will not be addressed in the investigation.

The duration of the safety investigation is approximately 9 to 12 months.