When you want to apply for elderly care you should contact the municipality's Secretariat for Assistance. You can contact the Secretariat via the municipality's switchboard on 08 53530000. The Secretariat for Assistance takes telephone calls between the hours of 9.00 – 10.30 a.m.
When you have contacted the Secretariat for Assistance you will meet an assistance case worker. You and your assistance case worker go through the kind of help you need.
Need assessed according to Social Services Act
Following the meeting, your assistance case worker decides whether or not you are to be granted the help for which you have applied. Your need is assessed in accordance with the Social Services Act and the terms are equal for all. The decision is sent to your home address. If you are granted the help you applied for you will be contacted by elderly care services. You decide together when and how you will receive your help.
If you are getting home help or a personal alarm, you can choose the provider. If you are granted the right to special housing you cannot choose which home you want to go to, but you can submit a request.
Assistance case workers bound by professional secrecy
The assistance case worker and all the staff who work within elderly care are bound by professional secrecy. This means that they cannot talk to anyone about what they know about you and what you have told them.
Interpreters and representatives
If you do not speak Swedish, you can get assistance via an interpreter. You can also have the decision and investigation translated into your language. If you have a hearing impairment, you can get assistance via a sign language interpreter. If you have a visual impairment, you can have the decision and investigation read out to you.
You can ask someone else to help you apply for elderly care. You can bring a representative with you when you meet your assistance case worker. If you want, your representative can talk to your assistance case worker about what you need help with on your behalf, without you having to be there. If you decide to do this you must give your representative power of attorney and sign a document saying that you agree to this. The assistance case worker is entitled to meet you even if you have given power of attorney to another person.
You can appeal against your decision
If you are not granted the help you applied for you may appeal against the decision. Submitting an appeal means that your case is re-examined to see if the decision is correct. If your application is rejected, you will receive an explanation as to why you did not get the help you applied for. It will also tell you how to go about appealing against the decision.
Your assistance case worker can help you with the appeal process. It does not cost anything to appeal. If you want to appeal you should do so within three weeks of the date you received the decision.