TALLINN, 11 December 2006 – During its audit the National Audit Office found that the system of rehabilitation of people with special needs is not sustainable.
According to law, all disabled persons and persons who are applying for a degree of disability are entitled to rehabilitation services, but the funds allocated for such purpose in the State Budget Act are scarce and therefore there are long waiting lists of those who would like to receive the service. For instance, in 2005 slightly over 7% of the persons entitled to the service actually received the service.
The services paid for by the state include drawing up rehabilitation plans on the basis of which the services are provided later. However, in 2005 44% of the rehabilitation funds was spent on drawing up the plans and instruction alone and the activities promoting independent social or occupational management of people had to do with less than a half of the funds.
Since rehabilitation plans are effective for a limited period there may be a situation where a plan is made for a person, but no services can be provided during its term of validity, which means that the money spent on drawing up the plan has been wasted. The Ministry of Social Affairs has financed rehabilitation to a greater extent in 2006, but since a large portion of the target group has not got the plans yet, the share of the money spent on the plans cannot be reduced considerably.
The Minister of Social Affairs has established a list of rehabilitation services, but failed to describe the substance of these services. The National Audit Office found that in such a manner the service quality cannot be ensured and the audit showed that services which in essence were not rehabilitation services or which were not set out in the persons' rehabilitation plans had been provided for nearly EEK 1 million.
The Social Insurance Board, whose duty is to ensure the provision of the service, had paid for such services. The National Audit Office found that the supervision over the service providers was not sufficient and that it must be considerably improved so the persons receive services that they need.
The results of the audit have been discussed in the Social Affairs Committee of the Riigikogu as well as in the Riigikogu Select Committee on the Control of the State Budget in the presence of the Minister of Social Affairs. The Minister agreed with the results of the audit and submitted the Ministry’s action plan for finding solutions for improving the availability and quality of the rehabilitation services.
Toomas Mattson
Communication Manager of National Audit Office
Telephone: 6400 777
Mob: 51 34900
E-mail: [email protected]
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Posted:
12/11/2006 12:00 AM
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Last Update:
9/17/2015 10:45 PM
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Last Review:
9/17/2015 10:45 PM