The SSAI Congress is a bi-annual meeting meant for the professionals of the field of anaesthesiology. The congress is held in a different Nordic city that holds a University Hospital each time – the congress is held in Finland every ten years. In 2024, the honor was granted to Oulu.

The theme of the Scandinavian Society of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine Congress (SSAI) 2024 in Oulu was “Tomorrow is Now”. The congress – which was the 37th of its series – considered the future from the perspective of medical science and technology. The congress program was split into three tracks: future orientation, practical matters and new research data. The congress was held on June 17-19, 2024, in the Oulu Music Centre. 

The planning of the congress began already in 2019. Approximately 600 participants registered to join the event in Oulu. Participants arrived from Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Estonia, Belgium, Australia and, of course, from Finland. The event was truly international – on top of the participants, speakers arrived from all over the world. One of the lecturers travelled all the way from Japan.

A welcome reception at the Hupisaari Open-Air Theatre under the midnight sun was held on the opening day of the congress. During the congress, multiple lectures, discussions, poster sessions and workshops were held over the three congress days. The events were held in multiple facilities of the vast Oulu Music Centre and Pohjankartano.

The northern location of Oulu offers a unique setting for conferences in the summer, as the attendees get to enjoy the white nights of the midnight sun. The SSAI program included one outdoor event, which was fortunately favored with good weather. 

For the SSAI participants, the congress experience in Oulu was special since Oulu has the second northernmost University Hospital in Europe and in comparison to other cities, Oulu is relatively small. The congress guests found the congress experience in Oulu very unique. 

The city of Oulu and Oulu Convention Bureau worked closely with the organization committee of the congress to ensure the success of the event. Additionally, personnel of the Oulu Music Centre and Oulu Congress Technology offered invaluable support. 

You can watch the video from the congress in YouTube. 

SSAI’s mission is to promote safe, modern and effective care for patients in need of anaesthesiology or intensive care. The five Nordic countries that are part of the SSAI – Finland, Denmark, Iceland, Norway and Sweden – share core values and work together to harmonize the work of the five national societies. The SSAI was founded in 1949 as a society for anaesthesiologists in Nordic countries, though the moniker SSAI was adopted in 1999.