"Someone in need of help doesn't have to be a specialist on the social welfare system," Auditor General Janar Holm said according to a press release. "If someone doesn't know what assistance is available, where to get it and how to get it, they're likely to miss out on it."

According to the National Audit Office report, access to assistance is restricted because the support system is split between Estonia's healthcare, social welfare and work ability subsystems. Services have similar names, meanwhile, and are offered on different conditions and in part to overlapping target groups from three different systems. Support providers likewise lack a coherent overview of an individual's real needs and the assistance they are already offered.

"The Ministry of Social Affairs should reorganize the social welfare system in such a way that it's not the disabled person that has to find their way within different subsystems, but rather there is a trained specialist to guide them to the necessary point," Holm said, adding that this specialist should have access to the individual's relevant information.

The National Audit Office finds that the patient journey through support can be shortened if two similar and parallel systems – the assessment of work ability and the determining of the severity of disability – were merged into a single assessment of capability instead.

Another problem highlighted by the report is that a single individual has to have their situation assessed repeatedly in order to receive report. Furthermore, these assessments are mainly used to establish whether their circumstances make them eligible for the relevant support; these assessments do not guarantee that assistance is designed to match the patient's individual needs. 

Someone having to repeatedly provide local authorities with data that they have already provided to the state must be prevented as well. Repeatedly detailing one's circumstances and submitting repeated requests for support is not treatment that respects their dignity, the audit office underscored.

According to the latest report, the National Audit Office emphasized that particular attention should be paid to the journey through receiving support, as it is an important part of the state's overall support system.

The report revealed that although the Ministry of Social Affairs is currently planning several minor changes to the social welfare system, it has not undertaken any reforms that would help reorganize the system in any significant way.

Second, related report to follow in May

The report published Thursday by the National Audit Office focused on the journey of disabled adults, i.e. aged 18 and over, in receiving social welfare support in Estonia. This report included disability regardless of whether it had been officially determined by the Social Insurance Board (SKA) or not.

Thursday's report, which focused on the state's activities within the area of government of the Ministry of Social Affairs, is one of two drawn up on the basis of the audit "Activities of the state and local authorities in supporting people with special needs."

The second report, to be published next month, focuses on the activities of local authorities in supporting disabled people.

Click here (link to PDF, in Estonian) to read the full National Audit Office report.

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