“A neighbor, an elderly woman living alone, has lived in Riga all her life. She is now 79 years old, has mobility issues, and wants to move to a nursing home for the elderly. How does this process work, where should she start, and what documents does she need to prepare?”
Antra Gabre, project coordinator of the external communication department of the Riga City Council:
Where to start?
The procedure for providing social services in Riga, including services of long-term social care institutions and social rehabilitation (nursing homes), is defined by Cabinet Regulation No. 138 “Noteikumi par sociālo pakalpojumu un sociālās palīdzības saņemšanu” (“Regulations on the receipt of social services and social assistance”), as well as the Mandatory Regulations of the Riga City Council No. 3 “Rīgas valstspilsētas pašvaldības sniegto sociālo pakalpojumu saņemšanas un samaksas kārtība” (“Procedure for receiving and paying for social services provided by the Riga City Council”).
An elderly person can obtain a place in a nursing home if they have lived in Riga for the last year (12 months) and require home care for at least 25 hours a week. This means that the person is no longer able to care for themselves independently and properly.
A person seeking a place in a nursing home should contact the Riga Social Service (Rīgas Sociālajs dienests — RSD) and provide:
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an application;
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documents confirming the person's income (if this information is not available to the municipality in the data registers);
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a certificate from the family doctor regarding the person's health status;
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a psychiatrist's conclusion if the person has a mental disorder.
After receiving the documents, a Social Service employee will assess how capable the person is of self-care and whether they are entitled to the requested service based on their condition.
Who pays for this?
If the person's condition meets the criteria mentioned above, they need to choose a specific nursing home, considering both their preferences and the funding system that corresponds to their financial capacity.
If the person resides in a municipal social care center (nursing home) or an institution with which the municipality has a contract, they (the client) pay for the service up to 85% from their pension, pension supplement, social security benefit, and/or other income, but not more than the cost of the service itself. If the person is unable to pay the full cost of the service, the municipality covers the remaining amount, up to the full cost of the social institution's service.
If the person resides in a social care center with which the municipality has a cooperation agreement, they pay for the service up to 85% of their pension, pension supplement, state social security benefit, and/or other income, but not more than the cost of the service itself. If the person cannot pay the full cost, the municipality covers the difference, but not more than 500 euros per month in a general type nursing home and not more than 800 euros per month in a family-type nursing home. If the full cost of the service is not covered even when the municipality makes a supplement, the remaining amount is paid either by the client's guardian or by other individuals who have taken on this obligation when entering into an agreement with the service provider (nursing home).
Lists of social care centers that receive co-financing from the Riga municipality can be found on the Welfare Department's website: www.ld.riga.lv in the section “Ilgstošas sociālās aprūpes un sociālās rehabilitācijas institūcijas (pansionāti)” (“Long-term social care and social rehabilitation institutions (nursing homes)”).
How long do you have to wait?
After a person has chosen the optimal nursing home for themselves, the Riga Social Service places them in one of the municipal electronic queues (depending on their choice):
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queue for a municipal nursing home,
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queue for a nursing home providing services based on a procurement contract,
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queue for a nursing home providing services based on a cooperation agreement.
But the most important thing is that the person must independently choose the service provider or type of nursing home where they want and are ready to move in.
As for the waiting time in the queue, it depends on several aspects:
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the availability of funding in the municipal budget;
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the availability of free space in the social care center (nursing home) chosen by the person;
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whether the free space meets the needs of the specific client (considering gender, presence/absence of dementia, etc.);
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whether someone else who was registered in the queue earlier has declined the offered place in this nursing home for some reason — for example, postponed their admission to the nursing home or decided to move to another nursing home.
About 70% of registered residents in the queue want to receive nursing home services in Riga (in one of the three Riga municipal nursing homes), so they have to wait several months or, if a suitable place is not available, even up to a year.
Waiting for a place in social care centers of organizations operating under procurement contracts may also take several months. In the queue for nursing homes of organizations operating under cooperation agreements, the waiting time is usually minimal: if there is a suitable place for the client, the service can be obtained almost immediately.
You cannot pay with an apartment
And finally, can you give your private apartment to the municipality as payment for nursing home services, or do you need to sell the apartment and pay for the services with money?
No, it is not possible to give your property to the municipality as payment for nursing home services.
A person must manage their private property at their own will and discretion. And if a person sells private property, the income from that sale is taken into account for one year when determining the payment for nursing home services.
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