Support for living at home

You can get support services provided by your wellbeing services county. Such support services that assist you living at home include for example

• meals
• cleaning
• clothing services
• shopping.

You may also get home care, which means care and nurture to assist you living at home. Home care can help with tasks, such as eating, washing yourself and dressing. Home care employees also follow your condition and give you and your close ones advice if needed.

Home care includes home nursing service that helps you with caring for your illnesses and rehabilitation. You may be get assistive devices, care supplies and help with medication at home. You can also get advice on suitable diet and exercise.

If you only need help from time to time, you can purchase home care services from private home service companies or non-governmental organisations. These services can include for example

• cleaning
• window washing
• cooking
• shopping
• small technical tasks at home.

Contact your county's social welfare services, or ask a family member or a friend to do so. The authorities will assess your need for services and prepare a client plan for you together with you and your family. Based on the plan you can be entitled to support services and home care. They will start assessing your needs within three months of the day on which you contacted the authorities. The plan will be reviewed without delay if your state of health or functional capacity gets worse or better.

If you are aged 75 years or over, or if you are receiving a care allowance for pensioners from Kela, your need for help will be assessed without delay, or at the latest within seven working days. You are entitled to the support you need and feeling safe living at home.

For example, you can get help from the diaconal workers of the parish or volunteers from various organisations rather than from the wellbeing services county. You can also buy services from private companies or non-governmental organisations , in which case you are entitled to domestic help credit in taxation. Companies also offer services that are not available from the wellbeing services county, including

• more thorough housecleaning
• repairs
• help when you go out to use services or enjoy yourself.

The best way of finding these companies and organisations is to look them up on the Internet. You can find them using search words, such as home service, services for the elderly, cleaning help, or services for older people. You can also ask the service advisers for older people about suitable companies.

A fee is charged for services provided at home by the wellbeing services county and for private care and attention services. Check if you are entitled to financial support. 

The price depends on the type and quantity of services provided, how much money you have and the size of your family. In this case, such income as housing benefits, disability benefits or benefits associated with an accident will not be included in your income.

The maximum price will be based on your income, or the total income of you and your spouse.

Companies charge the fees indicated in their price lists for their services, and you should compare the prices of different companies before making a decision.

The principal way to resolve issues in the service or care provided is to discuss them with the operating unit in question. Speak to the person who provided the service or care, or to their supervisor. This is the quickest way to investigate the case.

You can also contact your social welfare or health care ombudsman if you need help and advice on how to handle the matter. Their services are free of charge and you can get their contact information from your wellbeing services county or from the service provider who the matter concerns.

If a discussion does not help, you can file a written objection with the operating unit. The objection needs to be answered in writing within a reasonable time.

Learn more about patient`s and family member`s rights in social welfare and health care.

Wellbeing services county can provide you mobility assistance when using public transport would place an unreasonable burden on you. You can receive mobility assistance for running errands as well as for other necessary everyday trips.

Mobility assistance can be offered with the help of one or more of the following services:

• transport service
• personal assistance
• assistant during a trip
• financial support, for example by providing you a suitable vehicle or financial support for the purchase of one
• Some other suitable solution, for example a digital application or remote guidance if you have problems with perceiving the environment, reading the clock or getting on the right bus.

Wellbeing services county assesses your specific mobility needs and can combine these services. You can ask for more information from the service advisers for older people at your wellbeing services county.

You can get a reimbursement from Kela for your taxi fare if you have to use a taxi because of the state of your health or because of lacking public transport options. You can also be eligible for a reimbursement if you cannot use public transport due to, for example, an illness or going into labour. Check your eligibility for the reimbursement from Kela.

You will need a certificate from your healthcare provider to attach to your travel reimbursement application. Remember to also keep a copy of this certificate yourself for at least a six-month period. 

You can only receive a reimbursement for taxi journeys that you book through the regional dispatch number of a service provider that has a contract with Kela. If you show your Kela card before the beginning of the journey, you will get the reimbursement in the taxi. You will pay at most 25 euros for the journey.

See the instructions for how to book a Kela taxi on Kela`s website.Opens in a new window.