Estonia keeps police aid for fallen elderly outside work hours

Estonia’s Ministry of the Interior has reversed its decision to stop sending police to help elderly people who fall at home, ERR reported. The service will continue temporarily outside regular working hours, while municipalities and emergency services develop an alternative.

Under the original plan, effective Sept. 1, ambulance crews and social workers employed by local governments would have been responsible for helping elderly people who fall at home. The Ministry of Social Affairs and municipalities said they were not yet able to take on the full responsibility.

Veiko Luhalaiu, head of the Association of Estonian Cities and Municipalities, said the Interior Ministry’s decision to end the police response had come unexpectedly. He said municipalities had been discussing the issue with the ministries, but no solution had been agreed.

A joint analysis completed in May found that nearly 40 percent of falls were repeat incidents in which police had helped the same person up several times. Luhalaiu and Social Affairs Ministry Deputy Secretary General Hanna Vseviov said that if information about such cases were passed from police to local governments, municipalities could take steps to prevent further falls and reduce the police workload.

Tuuli Räim, deputy secretary general at the Interior Ministry, said limited police resources and excessive workloads were among the reasons for the original decision.

“Police resources are limited. If police respond to calls for social assistance, it may become more difficult for them to reach other places where they are definitely needed,” Räim said. She also questioned whether an armed police patrol should automatically be the first resource sent to provide social assistance.

Räim said a solution must still be found, adding that responsibility primarily lies with the ministries responsible for social affairs and regional policy, together with the Association of Estonian Cities and Municipalities.

Municipalities currently face several obstacles, including data-protection concerns, a lack of social workers available around the clock in all municipalities and the absence of authority to force entry into people’s homes.

For now, municipalities will organise assistance during working hours, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays. Outside those hours, state emergency services, including ambulance crews, police and rescue services, will continue to respond.