In October, it was reported that there was a shortfall of half a million euros for nursing home places. Home care needs around €5 million more.
Juris Radzevičs (Honor To Serve Riga), Chairman of the Riga City Council Social Affairs Committee, said that €2 million would be found for both needs in a budget amendment on November 20.
The rest will be found by reallocating money from social programs that have not been implemented.
The average waiting time for a place in a nursing home is currently up to nine months. Last year, about 850 people received this service, but in the first eight months of this year, three times fewer - about 250.
Two weeks ago, it was decided to reallocate the half a million needed from the December budget to this month.
Irena Kondrāte, Director of the Welfare Department of the Rīga City Council, said that in these two weeks it had been possible to reduce the queue by 200 places. Places are also being sought outside the city.
"We are buying these places not only in Riga. We are also buying outside Riga. Both in Ligatne and Jūrkalne we have people who live there. The idea is that if we decide on the funding in time, then the providers see the amount of funding, and in turn, they increase their capacity," explained Juris Radzevičs.
Ivanda Titova, the head of the home care service "Mājas aprūpe", told Latvian Radio that the company employs about 600 people who care for about 250 children and 750 adults. This is about 2.5 people per carer, but they cannot work more than 35 hours a week. The client's health condition determines how the caregiver's workload is balanced.
"You start going to that person, they need to fetch something from the shop once a week. You can't predict how quickly that person's situation changes. Suddenly you have to go to them every day, three times a day, 7 days a week. That carer has other clients. It's very complicated to manage, you have to look for other carers," said Titova.
However, there is no waiting list for home care. The moment an application is received, care starts within the next 24 hours.
In total, around €130 million is earmarked for social spending next year, but another €30 million is needed to deliver on priorities and new initiatives.
There are enough priority social services for the coming year. One of them is access to long-term social care and social rehabilitation services and reducing queues. Currently, at least 58% of the Latvian population helps to take care of a grandparent or other person, and this number could increase in the future, according to the Latvian Samaritans Association. Care services are expensive and at least 96% of the population would not be able to pay for the service in full. That is why local authorities have to come to the rescue.
Out-of-family care for young people, tackling behavioral problems, strengthening parenting skills, and supporting homeless people are also on the priority list.
