Emergency center stops sending police to help fallen seniors
Police had long been sent to help seniors who fell at home, but a Ministry of the Interior decision now bars the Emergency Response Center from dispatching officers, shifting the job to ambulance crews and social workers.
The Ministry of Social Affairs and local governments say the Interior Ministry has placed a burden on them that they cannot meet.
Each year brings more cases in which a senior who has fallen at home cannot get up without help. If police officers were previously sent to assist, then starting September 1 the Emergency Response Center must choose whether to send an ambulance or a local social worker. Local governments say the new procedure came without warning.
"The problem is that a local government does not operate 24/7. Many local governments do not have official cars, and there is no agreement like an operational service that someone must be on call on a Saturday sauna day," said Estonian Cities and Municipalities Association head Veiko Luhalaid.
If the person in need has a locked door, Luhalaid said the Emergency Response Center must be called again, because a social worker is not allowed to break in. The change also came as a cold shower for the Ministry of Social Affairs.
"We do not consider this solution reasonable because it is not possible to end assistance in one system before a reasonable alternative has been built up elsewhere," said Ministry of Social Affairs deputy secretary general Hanna Vseviov.
Over the past year, police have had to help 600 people in distress. The social and interior ministries agreed a year and a half ago to try to remove this duty from police, but they have not yet agreed on how.
"Until the very last moment, we did not have information that they would actually take this step, and we still hoped we could jointly develop a much more reasonable solution," Vseviov said.
Interior Ministry deputy secretary general Tuuli Räim said an analysis completed in May did not offer solutions on who should help seniors in the future. Räim rejected claims that the ministry's decision was made overnight.
"This is an issue we have been working on continuously for the past year to find solutions. We have to start somewhere and then find the solutions step by step," Räim said.
While officials argue in Tallinn, Narva has already had community well-being workers for half a year as part of a pilot project. They are called for help by both residents and police.
Assisting a senior can be complicated.
"If someone has fallen next to the bed, you have to move them a bit to unfold the chair. If they fell on the doorstep, there are other difficulties. It also depends on the person's weight, because the heavier the person, the harder it is to help. But on average, it takes 15 minutes to get someone back on their feet," said Narva well-being worker Vitali Slepnjov.
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Editor: Johanna Alvin, Argo Ideon
