The municipalities of the Uusimaa region have set up a working group to prepare the organisation of social services for people with intellectual disabilities in the well-being services counties of Western Uusimaa, Eastern Uusimaa, Central Uusimaa and Vantaa-Kerava, as well as in Helsinki. The working group includes representatives from the municipalities in the area and the Eteva and Kårkulla joint municipal authorities. According to the Government’s health and social services bill, the current special care districts will be abolished and the responsibility for the organisation of the services will be transferred to the well-being services counties. The task of the working group is to draw up a proposal on the organisation of basic and very advanced social services for people with intellectual disabilities in Finnish and Swedish in cooperation between the well-being services counties and Helsinki. The preparation will be carried out in cooperation with the Care paths of persons with intellectual disabilities in Uusimaa project(Link leads to external service) in order to ensure the integration of social services and health care.
The organisation of very advanced services requires strong expertise from operators and service providers, as well as facilities suitable for the organisation of the services. Furthermore, a sufficiently large population base is needed. The number of users for these services is small, and the joint municipal authorities of Eteva, Kårkulla, Vaalijala and Eskoo have been providing services to the residents of several well-being services counties. In the legislative reform, the operations and personnel of these joint municipal authorities will become part of the operations of the well-being services county in which the personnel performing the task work. This means that the organisation of both very advanced services and Swedish-language services requires cooperation between different well-being services counties.
By the end of 2021, the working group will draw up a proposal for a model that guarantees equal social services for people with intellectual disabilities in Finnish and Swedish in the Uusimaa region. Most of the services needed by people with intellectual disabilities in the well-being services counties will primarily be provided by basic social and health care services. In addition to this, the organisation of very advanced services will be handled by agreement between the well-being services counties.
Further information:
Western Uusimaa representative, chairperson of the working group
Head of Disability Services Anu Autio, City of Espoo
tel. 043 8259890
anu.autio@espoo.fi(Link opens default mail program)
City of Helsinki representative
Director of Services for the Disabled Katja Raita, City of Helsinki
tel. 050 5930973
katja.raita@hel.fi(Link opens default mail program)
Vantaa-Kerava representative
Director of Services for the Elderly and the Disabled
Minna Lahnalampi-Lahtinen
tel. 09 8392 0028
minna.lahnalampi-lahtinen@vantaa.fi(Link opens default mail program)
Central Uusimaa representative
Disability Services Manager Olli-Pekka Alapiessa
050 497 2430
olli-pekka.alapiessa@keusote.fi(Link opens default mail program)
Eastern Uusimaa representative
Project Manager Irja Suhonen
Investigation project for closer cooperation in disability services in Eastern Uusimaa
040 1856073
irja.suhonen@porvoo.fi(Link opens default mail program)
Photo: Pexels / Fauxels