Applications for nursing homes

Needs assessment

• If the patient or his or her relatives believes the time has come to apply for a place in a nursing home, it is necessary to apply for a needs assessment from the special needs-assessment committee.
• There are seven needs-assessment committees working in each of the country's seven healthcare districts.
• A request for a needs assessment should be submitted to the needs-assessment committee for the district where the applicant has his or her legal residence.
• The staff at the state health clinics can supply forms upon request.

• When the application is received by the needs-assessment committee, various information is collected that is required in order to determine the applicant's need for care at a nursing home. A healthcare worker then contacts the applicant, and in some cases visits the applicant to better assess his or her health and circumstances.
• Applications are generally processed in 6-8 weeks, and answers are sent to applicants, healthcare professionals and the social services.

• If the application is denied, the applicant is made aware of other resources, such as assistance programmes provided by health clinics and social services, that suit his or her circumstances.
• If the application is approved, the next step is to apply for a slot at a nursing home.

• The needs assessment is valid for 12 months. If the applicant has not been allotted a place once this period has ended, the needs-assessment committee notifies him or her of this and offers the applicant a new assessment.

• Needs assessments that were completed before the end of 2007 are valid for 18 months, according to the regulations in effect at that time.

• If an applicant is dissatisfied with the way the needs assessment was carried out, he or she may bring the matter to the Directorate of Health.
• Patients and their relatives have access to guidance on needs assessments and the various resources that they have recourse to through the needs-assessment committee, family physicians, state health-clinics and the municipal social services.

Applications for nursing home placement

• When an applicant is notified that his or her needs assessment has been approved, the letter includes an application form for a nursing home placement. The application form should be completed and returned to the needs-assessment committee.
• Applications for placements can be made at any of the 15 nursing homes in the country.
• When a slot becomes available at the nursing homes the patient has selected for placement, the administration is free to select from among the three applicants who demonstrate the greatest need at the top of the waiting list.

• Applicant priority is determined by a needs-assessment point system, which indicates the severity of the need for placement. Those highest on the list demonstrate the worst health conditions, have the most difficult living conditions, and have waited the longest on the list.

Selection for nursing home placement

• The nursing homes provide their own information on their operations and facilities. Many of the nursing homes have a website or have published pamphlets describing their facilities.
• The employees of the needs-assessment committees can also offer their advice on which homes are most suitable for the applicant in question.
  

Links of interest

• Applications for assisted living facilities, island.is
• Home care service, island.is

Laws and regulations 

• Legislation, Ministry of Welfare