In January 2025, a patient tragically died at a private medical center in Kuopio during a planned MRI examination under anesthesia. The medical director of Pihlajalinna, Sari Riihijärvi, stated that the incident involved a wrong decision made by the anesthesiologist and unfortunate misunderstandings regarding the protocol. Following this incident, the police have initiated an investigation for involuntary manslaughter, and the anesthesiologist involved is no longer employed at the facility.

During the procedure, the male patient, who was middle-aged, experienced a rapid decline in his condition and became unresponsive despite initial resuscitation efforts that managed to revive him temporarily. Unfortunately, he later passed away in the hospital. The medical incident occurred at the Kuopio branch of Pihlajalinna, as reported by Yle, highlighting significant concerns regarding patient safety and the protocols in place at medical facilities.

The Accident Investigation Center (Otkes) found that the patient was administered a dose of anesthetic equivalent to that of general anesthesia. Coupled with inadequate oxygen flow from a small face mask, this contributed to the deterioration of the patient's health condition, raising questions about anesthetic practices and the need for stricter adherence to safety guidelines in medical environments.