People with intellectual and developmental disabilities at risk of ending up in giant institutions

Practice is entirely different from government’s definition of policy

print this

Giant institutions where senior citizens and rehab patients as well as people with intellectual and developmental disabilities are to be housed are being built in Finland.
     
Such ”housing concentrations” are on the way particularly in Pirkanmaa, where private enterprises specialised in care services have bought up large old hospitals.
      Large companies have done well when municipalities have asked for bids for providing care services.
      For example, a new unit to house almost 100 residents will be set up in the old Pitkäniemi mental hospital in Nokia near Tampere. The company providing intensive residential services is Esperi Care, which is co-owned by the investment company CapMan and the executive management of the enterprise itself.
      Another large unit with 250 to 300 rooms will be set in the former Pikonlinna hospital in Kangasala, about 20 kilometres east of Tampere. The purpose of the unit will be to provide accommodation for senior citizens and people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
     
However, housing disabled people in large units is in conflict with the policy defined by the government in January.
      The government decided that the number of beds in institutional care for disabled citizens would be reduced appreciably. Instead, they should be provided with individual living units among other people.
      Some people estimate that despite the good objectives, Finland is now returning to the 1960s.
      Then people with intellectual and developmental disabilities were kept in municipal homes for the aged or in mental hospitals.
      On Monday, Minister of Health and Social Services Paula Risikko (National Coalition) and Minister of Housing Jan Vapaavuori (National Coalition) reminded the municipalities of the conflict between the principles and practices. They stressed that the municipalities will have to pay enough attention to the accommodation of people with disabilities as well as to the content and quality of services.
      This is a question of basic human rights, the ministers noted.
     
At present, municipalities and joint municipal authorities are preparing regional plans in order to reduce institutional care and to provide homes for people with disabilities.
      Large, frequently multi-national companies providing care services have tried to get their share of the market. For example, Savon Vammaisasuntosäätiö - the Housing Foundation for the Intellectually Disabled in Savo, which has been operating for 20 years, recently lost a competitive bid to large private service providers.
     
Officials at the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health have paid attention to the fact that the principle decided upon by the government has not been the starting point in all bidding situations.
      ”To some extent, there has been an alarming trend not to regard the quality objectives defined by the government’s decision on principles as the primary criterion, when bids for tenders have been ordered in municipalities”, says Jaana Huhta, Senior Officer in the Department for Social and Health Services.
     
The Housing Finance and Development Centre of Finland (ARA) grants subsidies for the construction of homes for disabled citizens. ARA is a governmental agency operating under the supervision of the Ministry of the Environment. Through ARA, the state can supervise the quality of housing production.
      Large service providers do not necessarily need any subsidies, which is why the state cannot interfere with their projects.
     
There are approximately 35,000 to 40,000 people in Finland with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
      A total of 2,000 of these individuals are long-term patients taken care of in institutions for the disabled, while 400 persons are in rehab care.
      Around 13,000 disabled citizens are living with their families.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Disabled to get extensive rights to free personal assistance (18.2.2008)
  Disabled immigrants in danger of marginalisation (22.9.2009)

See also:
  Police suspect homicide in insulin death of disabled person (6.9.2007)

Links:
  The Finnish Association for Persons with Intellectual Disabilities
  The Finnish Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

Helsingin Sanomat