Estonian welfare, healthcare system to be supported with EUR 1.7 mln

TALLINN – The Estonian Ministry of Social Affairs and the State Shared Services Center (RTK) on Sept. 25 opened an application round, through which it is possible to start applying by county for support in order to reduce the administrative burden of people with complex assistance needs and their relatives as a result of networking.

The purpose of the application round is to offer local governments the opportunity to develop a functioning coordination network and work processes and thereby support the implementation of cross-sectoral cooperation. Through the support, county-based coordination models can be kept in operation and further developed, and existing coordination models can be expanded to county-based ones. The budget of the application round opened with the co-financing of the European Union is 1.7 million euros, RTK said.

Minister of Social Protection Signe Riisalo said that by implementing the regional coordination model, we will reach a situation where all those in need of help receive the necessary support smoothly and logically, while the journey to help is constantly supported.

"With the model, we make it easier for people and specialists in the fields to reach each other. It creates a complete system that directs resources efficiently and ensures that all those in need of help get the necessary support quickly and with support," she said.

According to Ulle Luide, head of RTK's labor market and welfare department, applications for support can be submitted from Sept. 25 and will be accepted on a running basis until the end of 2023.

"Those welcome to apply for support include local government units, a regional hospital, a central hospital, a general hospital or a local hospital serving the area specified in the application; a family doctor with a practice list providing general medical care, if four other family doctors with practice lists are included as partners; a joint institution of local government units in accordance with section 621 of the Local Government Organization Act; a county development center or a union of local municipality units of the county uniting the local municipalities of the county," she said.

"Here, I would like to draw the attention of those drawing up the projects to the fact that the project applicant and partners must also include either the hospital serving the area specified in the application or the five family doctors with practice lists serving the area specified in the application, as well as all local governments of the county. In addition, it is necessary that the applicant or their partner must have previously received support for the implementation of a coordination model for a human-centered social welfare and healthcare system," Luide added.

The maximum grant amount per application is up to 219,113 euros and the maximum duration of the project eligibility period must be 24 months. The application round is open from Sept. 25 to Dec. 31, 2023.