With the growing need for nursing services in Lithuania, the Ministry of Health (SAM) initiated the transformation of long-term care, the aim of which is to improve the quality of nursing services and ensure better accessibility.
“In order to increase the quality and volume of ambulatory nursing services at home, the team of specialists providing nursing services at home was expanded – now it consists of a nurse, a nurse’s assistant, and a physiotherapist. In the near future, it is planned to add an occupational therapist to the team. Until 2020 the nursing service could be provided by a nurse working with a family doctor,” said Ilona Šakienė, Head of the Nursing and Long-Term Care Department of the Personal Health Department of the SAM.
The volume of services reimbursed from the PSDF and the number of nursing home recipients were also increased. in 2020 40,000 people used the service, and in 2022 the number of its recipients increased to 50,500. The implemented changes will help the population experiencing difficulties to live independently for longer and avoid the possible exacerbation of diseases, and will facilitate the daily life of relatives who take care of them.
Three types of nursing services are provided in Lithuania
Nursing services are provided to patients whose health condition requires the constant assistance of a health care specialist – a nurse or nurse’s assistant. “This is determined by a special questionnaire assessing the need for such services in a specific case. Care can be received by a person of any age who has such a need,” said SAM representative Ilona Šakienė.
For patients in need of nursing services, the health care system can offer several types of services: supportive care and nursing, ambulatory home care, and palliative care.
Supportive treatment and care services are provided to people with chronic diseases and disabled people, whose diagnosis does not require active treatment, no additional tests are required. Also in cases where it is not possible to provide the necessary nursing services at the patient’s home. A referral for supportive care and home care services is prescribed by the attending physician.
Other types of ambulatory nursing home – services are provided at the patient’s home by a team of health care professionals consisting of a nurse, a nurse’s assistant and a physiotherapist. The purpose of these services is to enable a person to live independently in the community for as long as possible. In this way, the aim is to preserve a person’s independence, to protect against the exacerbation of the disease or the progression of existing symptoms. Referral to ambulatory nursing services at home is prescribed by the patient’s family physician.
Palliative care – these are nursing services for patients suffering from incurable progressive diseases. They are intended to improve the quality of life of the patient and his relatives, relieve physical and psychological suffering, and help solve other psychosocial and spiritual problems. Palliative care services can be provided at the patient’s home, in an inpatient facility, or in a day care facility. A referral for palliative care services is issued by the attending physician.
According to I. Šakiene, nursing services are provided as long as the patient needs constant care from a health care specialist. If, after assessing a person’s state of health and the need for care, it is determined that the services of intensive health care specialists are not needed, the patient can be provided with outpatient care services at home instead of supportive treatment and nursing services in a hospital.
The most common questions patients ask are: How long will it take and how much will it cost?
According to I. Šakiene, the start of the provision of supportive treatment and nursing services depends on the complexity of the patient’s health condition (usually priority is given to patients after active treatment services) and the availability of the health care institution providing the services. While waiting for supportive treatment and nursing services, outpatient services at home are always available.
When applying for ambulatory nursing services at home, the need for nursing services is assessed immediately and a referral is made to receive them. Outpatient care services at home are provided by a unit of the primary health care institution or another institution with which a contract has been concluded.
If the patient is being cared for at home, the nurse visits for the first time within 1-5 working days. Urgent appointments are completed within the first 24 hours and scheduled appointments within 1-5 business days.
I. Šakienė assured that there is no need to worry about the cost of care, because every person can take advantage of free care: “120 days of supportive treatment and care in the hospital are reimbursed annually from the budget funds of the Mandatory Health Insurance Fund. Ambulatory home nursing services reimburse 52, 156, or 260 specialist visits per year by the service team, depending on the identified need for nursing services. Until 2020 24 services per year were reimbursed.”
SAM Communications department
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– 2024-05-01 15:58:18
