Norræn ráðstefna um samþættingu heimaþjónustu

ADDRESS

by Anna Lilja Gunnarsdóttir, Permanent Secretary, on behalf of
the Minister of Health

Dear guests.

First of all, I bring you the greetings of Kristján Þór Júlíusson, the Minister of Health, who could not be here today due to other duties – and I have the pleasure of speaking on his behalf.

I hope you had a good and interesting day and that each one of you will go home with new ideas that will help you in improving home care services in your home country.

Although home care services, that is home nursing and social services to residents, are intended for people of all ages in need, the main age group are the elderly, a group that is getting larger as the population ages.

I wholly endorse the remarks of Minister Eygló Harðardóttir at this conference this morning on the need for redirecting the public discourse on the increasing number of the elderly away from an emphasis on problems towards one of solutions. This is one of the many evident tasks of society – and we need to address it with respect and professionalism.

In my mind, respect means that we must observe the right of determination of the elderly in every respect, since it is one of the most fundamental rights of each and everyone to be in charge of one's life in big things and small.  The award-winning project, “Frederica”, introduced by Karen Heebøll at this conference today addresses this issue with an emphasis upon supporting people to be in control of their lives as long as possible. I think that we have a lot to learn in this respect. This is also related to preventive care which is one of the many areas of responsibility of the Minister of Health and there is every intention to make this a greater priority than it has been in the past.

The Minister of Social Affairs and Housing recalled this morning that previously people took the view that as soon as the elderly were no longer able to fully take care of themselves they should go into an institution. This was the general consensus – until it occurred to us to ask elderly people themselves what they would like most – and the result came as no surprise. Of course, people would like to remain at home as long as possible – and with the right kind of support they can do so for quite some time. This has been borne out by experience – and we can no doubt do better in this respect.

I especially would like to mention the elderly with Alzheimer's disease or lacking mental capacity because of other memory disorder. This is a fairly large group of older people that is in greater need of services than others. In such cases, the best solution for the individual may be to reside in a nursing home that can ensure appropriate safety and care.

One cannot touch upon these issues without mentioning cost, cost-sharing of the people receiving services for the elderly, the participation of the state and municipalities in such services as well as the form of operations. We in this country have a number of service types. There has been much discussion here on home care services in Reykjavík that is wholly under the auspices of the city. Two municipalities, Akureyri and Hornafjörður, have for a long time been fully responsible for all services to the elderly under a contract with the state. In most municipalities, however, home care services are both provided by the state and the municipalities. The form of operation of nursing homes varies. They are operated by the state, municipalities, non-profit organisations or private parties. In all cases, the state pays a per-diem charge to nursing homes whereas the residents themselves bear part of the cost based on their means.

Coordinated services, tailored to the needs of each person at the appropriate service level, is a basic issue. I therefore should like to mention an interesting project that is being developed under my care, the so-called initial assessment, intended to gather information and evaluate in a coordinated manner the need for care for each individual. Decisions on services according to such an assessment should contribute towards equality based on a coordinated professional evaluation. This will hopefully be successful so that such an initial assessment may be adopted throughout the country, leading to a more efficient service and a just setting of priorities.

Dear guests.

Let this be my concluding remarks, since the closing of this conference is near. I hope it has been satisfying and illuminating for all of you.