Estonia's queue for special care may outlast the lives of those waiting

More than 2,000 people in Estonia are on a waiting list for special care services, which are meant for people with severe mental disorders or intellectual disabilities. The issue was reported by Estonian public broadcaster ERR, citing the programme "Aktuaalne kaamera". It has come to the fore as the government prepares next year's budget and the Riigikogu (Estonia's parliament) considers a bill on how the queue is organised.

A family left without the service

Alex, 19, has a severe disability and needs round-the-clock care. He was born very prematurely, which caused serious brain damage. He needs help with everyday tasks such as eating and dressing. His mother, Merje Liiv, said her son constantly needs her presence, has epileptic seizures, and that his condition has to be monitored all the time.

The family had expected Alex to receive special care after finishing school, but his case was judged too complex and the service was not granted. The local authority has provided a personal assistant who comes on working days. Liiv said the most painful realisation was that while Alex was required to attend school, the state was obliged to take notice of him, but once that obligation ended, that stopped.

The queue and the money

Ragnar Vaikneemets, chair of the management board of Hoolekandeteenused, said that people in the queue currently undergo no medical triage and their need is not reassessed. Places are allocated mainly by the date of registration rather than urgency. The parliament's social affairs committee is reviewing a bill that would require actual need to be taken into account when allocating places.

Special care needs an additional €200 million over the next four years, while the budget provides €37 million in extra funds for the entire social and healthcare sector. In the draft budget for next year the government has set aside a €7.4 million reserve for the social sector, to be used in talks with the opposition. Riina Sikkut, a Social Democratic Party MP, criticised this, while Signe Riisalo (Reform Party), who chairs the committee, believes the issue should be written into the budget like other expenditure. In spring, the Supreme Court ruled that the state must provide a place in an institution to a person who needs one.

Vaikneemets warned that underfunding will return "like a boomerang": more calls to emergency services and police, and more visits to medical facilities.