• Integration of services that promote home care for senior citizens in Dalvík

• Home care and social services in homes will be transferred to Dalbær

• Evening services set up and weekend services strengthened

• New position for a consultant who deals with social isolation

• New position for an occupational therapist to work in a home rehabilitation team

The Healthcare Institution of North Iceland (HSN), Dalvíkurbyggð and Dalbær Nursing Home in Dalvík are participating in the development project “Good to Grow Older” which was signed last Thursday in Dalvík. “Good to Grow Older” is the title of the government’s action plan on older people which was approved by the Icelandic parliament, Althingi, on May 10th 2023. The project is mainly concerned with integrating social and healthcare services and bring them under one roof to streamline services for recipients.

Dalvík is one of six regions in Iceland that were selected for participation in the project and the nursing home Dalbær will be the operator of the project with support from HSN and Dalvíkurbyggð. The common objectives of integrated home care are to improve the quality of life of senior citizens in Dalvík, simplify communication channels and ensure continuity of services. Evening services will be a new service, weekend services will be strengthened and night services will be available. A new position of contact consultant will be established, designed to combat social isolation of older people and an occupational therapist will be hired to work in the home rehabilitation team of the service.

“There are a lot of opportunities that the ‘Good to Grow Older’ project brings us,” said Elísa Rán Ingvarsdóttir, Director of Nursing in Dalbær. “Having the whole business in one hand gives us the opportunity to make the service more efficient, simplify the channels and increase the service for senior citizens in Dalvík. The development project also brings funding for contact consultant and the work of occupational therapists in home rehabilitation.”

“We have a lot of faith in this project, which is intended to strengthen home care in Dalvík,” said Gudný Friðriksdóttir, Director of Nursing at HSN. “People want to be able to stay at home longer, which calls for stronger home care services, but the integration will include evening services for households all evenings of the week, which was not the case before.”

“I am very pleased to be a part of the project ‘Good to Grow Older’,” said Eyrún Ingibjörg Sigþórsdóttir, mayor of Dalvík. “The project offers increased cooperation between health and social services, with projects to go between social and health services on both sides. This will work towards a single service portal for receiving service requests for the sake of simplicity for clients and an assessment team will organize the need for services.”

About Good to Grow Older:

The main focus of the Good to Grow Older action plan for older people is on development projects where integration of social and health care in home, innovation and testing will serve as a basis for decisions on the future structure of services for older people. The goal is to provide comprehensive and effective integrated social and health care for people in home, thus promoting the safe living of older people as long as possible at home, in the most natural conditions. The project is also intended to reveal the pros and cons of integrating the operation of home care for all its service recipients. Partners will be provided with organized support and advice on the implementation of the development projects and follow-up, as well as evaluation of the results, from the staff of Good Ageing.

The action plan is based on the Constitution of the State of Iceland and the declaration of intent of the Minister of Social Affairs and the Labour Market, the Minister of Health, the Minister of Finance, the Association of Local Authorities in Iceland and the National Association of Senior Citizens to increase cooperation regarding issues concerning older people. Interdisciplinary cooperation between social and health services is fundamental to achieve synergies of professional knowledge in each area and thus ensure better services for an expanding population, including integration of services, prevention, health promotion and increased activity.

For more information on the project “Good to Grow Older” visit the Government Offices website.