Finland has declared 13 Estonian doctors dangerous to patients, however many of them continue to work as doctors in Estonia, writes daily Eesti Päevaleht (EPL).

Estonia's Health Board has neither investigated the backgrounds of the doctors to face trouble in Finland due to their inadequate professional skills nor informed the doctors' current employers in Estonia of the decision made in Finland, EPL reported.

Of 13 Estonian doctors to face practice restrictions or have their right to practice medicine revoked altogether by Finland's National Supervisory Authority for Welfare and Health (Valvira), six are currently continuing to work as doctors in Estonia.

This is possible because other countries' restrictions do not apply in Estonia, and until a doctor has been found guilty by the courts in Estonia, neither the Health Board nor any other agency has any grounds for restricting their rights to work in Estonia. At the same time, a pan-European warning system joined by Estonia in 2016 has been of no use.

According to the Valvira reports, the doctors faced practice restrictions officially due to poor Finnish language skills, but these decisions were reached only after repeated complaints and serious shortcomings. In a couple of instances, doctors were even sent to the University of Helsinki to undergo competence evaluations.

When registering healthcare professionals in Estonia, the Health Board only verifies whether an individual has the necessary education and patient service skills.