Sóltún Health Centre – innovations in elderly care

Sóltún Health Centre opens on 1 September – innovations in elderly care services

Sjúkratryggingar Íslands (SÍ) and Sóltún öldrunarþjónusta ehf. have entered into an agreement providing for a new type of specialised service for the elderly. The service will be provided in the refurbished premises of the former Sólvang in Hafnarfjörður. There will be space for 39 individuals who are expected to stay for a short period and receive individualised, holistic and interdisciplinary rehabilitation. The aim is to maintain and increase the individual's functional ability in daily life, thereby enhancing their capacity for independent living in their own home for as long as possible. It is anticipated that at least 400 individuals will be able to receive this service annually.

Notice on the website of the Cabinet Office 

^{An agreement for the services of Sóltún Health Centre at Sólvang in Hafnarfjörður has been signed and confirmed by the Minister of Health. Maria Heimisdóttir, CEO of the National Health Insurance Administration; Rósa Guðbjartsdóttir, Mayor of Hafnarfjörður; Bryndís Guðbrandsdóttir of Sóltún; Ingibjörg Eyþórsdóttir, Director of Nursing at Sóltún, Hrönn Ljótsdóttir from Sóltún and Willum Þór Þórsson, Minister of Health.}

^{The facilities at Sóltún Health Centre are set to be the most splendid. Sóltún Health Centre will be located on the 3rd and 4th floors of the old Sólvangur.} 

„It is my great pleasure to confirm the agreement for this service, which I believe marks a turning point. We should place much greater emphasis on effective prevention and rehabilitation, as will be done here, and I envisage this becoming a model for similar services much more widely, throughout the country.“ says Willum Þór Þórsson, Minister of Health.

„We are very much looking forward to offering a new and exciting service at Sóltún Health Centre on Sólvangur. With a multifaceted health-promoting short-stay programme, the aim is to help people improve their quality of life, independence and fitness in later life, and to reduce their need for assistance with activities of daily living., says Halla Thoroddsen, managing director of Sóltún Elderly Care Services Ltd.

„This agreement between the Icelandic Health Institute and Sóltún Elderly Care Service involves an exceptionally exciting innovation which will help older people to maintain their ability and skill to live in their own homes for longer, thereby delaying the need for them to move into a care home. Interdisciplinary rehabilitation with a preventative focus, where work is carried out on the person's functionality, nutritional and health status, is certainly the key to good results.“ says María Heimisdóttir, Director of the National Insurance Institute of Iceland.

The arrangement of the service provided for by the contract includes certain innovations. It will be based on individualised plans which include education, specialist consultations, individual and group training, health-promoting training and activities. The aim is for those using the service to receive rehabilitation for four weeks on average, although in certain cases this may extend to six weeks. A minimum of 5 hours of individual therapy and 20 hours of individualised group therapy per person will be provided each week. The service will be provided every month of the year, every day of the week, except for 10 days each year around Christmas and New Year.

Reduced need for A&E services and hospital admissions

Initially, it is anticipated that home care and GP surgeries in the capital region will be able to refer people to this service. This is a new initiative and is thought likely to reduce the need for visits to the Accident & Emergency department. Furthermore, it is hoped that the rehabilitation and preventative work involved in the service will reduce the likelihood of serious health deterioration that requires A&E services or leads to premature hospitalisation. The service is therefore intended to ease the pressure on the National University Hospital, increase support for the carers of elderly people who are often under great strain, and last but not least, to improve the quality of life for those who use the service and enable them to live at home for longer than would otherwise be possible.

The operation begins on 1 September.

Sóltún Health Centre will open its services at Sólvangur on 1 September, in accordance with the agreement between Sóltún Ageing Services Ltd. and the National Health Insurance of Iceland, which is valid until the end of March 2025. Individuals' contribution towards the services provided under the agreement is governed by Regulation No. 1112/2006 on institutional care for the elderly.