Estonian police to keep helping fallen elderly outside working hours

Estonia's Interior Ministry has revised its earlier decision concerning help for elderly people who fall at home. The original plan said police officers would no longer have to respond to such calls, leaving the task to ambulance crews and municipal social workers. The ministry has now announced that, for the time being, this assistance will continue outside regular working hours.

The change comes after the earlier decision surprised both local governments and the Ministry of Social Affairs. From September 1, elderly people who fall at home were to be helped by ambulance crews and social workers employed by local authorities. However, both the Social Affairs Ministry and local governments have said they cannot fulfil the obligation set by the Interior Ministry.

Tuuli Räim, deputy secretary general at the Interior Ministry, cited excessive workload and lack of resources among the reasons. She explained that police resources are limited and, if officers deal with social assistance calls, it may become harder for them to reach places where they are truly needed. She also raised the issue of competence to assess a person's health condition and said it is not appropriate for an armed police patrol to be the default first responder.

Räim stressed that a solution must be found. Since the issue belongs to the social field, primary responsibility lies with the Ministry of Social Affairs and the Ministry of Regional Affairs in cooperation with the Association of Estonian Cities and Municipalities. The Interior Ministry sees itself as a partner.

Veikko Luhalaid, head of the association, said concerns include the protection of personal and health data, the inability to keep social workers on call around the clock in all municipalities, and their lack of authority to force open a home's door.

The role of local governments would mainly be to prevent falls. An analysis showed that nearly 40 percent of falls were repeat cases, meaning police had gone several times to the same home to help the same person up.

The Interior Ministry is now offering temporary relief. During working hours, from Monday to Friday between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., assistance will be arranged by the local government. Outside working hours, national emergency resources – ambulance, police or rescue services – will continue responding for now, Räim said.