Results of 2019: medical reform, social benefits, inclusive education and law
2019 was rich for Ukraine in various events: from the presidential election to the return of prisoners from Russia. But, apart from such high-profile processes, small changes are taking place in the country every day, to which we often do not pay attention. We summarize the past year and tell what happened in 2019 with inclusion , medicine and education.
Benefits for people with disabilities
In Ukraine, the amount of benefits for people with disabilities is tied to the subsistence level for people who have lost their ability to work. Due to the fact that the subsistence level has increased several times this year, the payments themselves have increased.
Thus, as of January 1, 2019, the amount of payments was 1497 hryvnias, and on December 1, 2019 - 1638 hryvnias. It is planned that from the middle of 2020 this amount will increase to UAH 1,712.
Medical
reform Medical reform has been going on in the country for several years now. So far, not everything is going smoothly, but some changes are already there. Thus, by April 2019, all Ukrainians had to find a family doctor and sign a declaration with him. But there is no deadline for signing a contract with a doctor and people can sign a declaration at any time to receive free care. By the way, now, according to the National Health Service, more than 28 million Ukrainians have signed declarations with doctors.
Also, in 2019 the second stage of medical reform was to start. It was planned that the Ministry of Health will determine a specific list of free diagnostics and Ukrainians will be able to use certain services for free. But this innovation has not started to work, and now the Ministry of Health says that its introduction early next year is also in question, because so far medical institutions are not fully ready for autonomy.
Emergency aid reform was also planned, but so far it is working only as a pilot project in several regions - Vinnytsia, Donetsk, Odesa, Poltava, Ternopil regions and Kyiv. In these regions there are two ambulances - emergency, which leaves only if urgent hospitalization is required; and urgent, which will come in the event that there is no threat to life, but there is a threat to health: exacerbation of chronic disease, fever or high blood pressure.
The pilot project provides for:
- purchase of specialized ambulances;
- equipment for the training departments of the centers of emergency medical care and disaster medicine (CEMD);
- hardware and software complex of dispatching services of the centers of emergency medical care and disaster medicine.
After the reform, the team will include an emergency medical technician and two paramedics who will be able to take the person to the hospital and provide pre-hospital care. But in addition, there will be medical teams that will go on calls that require medical intervention.
It is also known that the National Health Service of Ukraine (NHSU) has been involved in the state program "Affordable Medicines" since April 1, and one of the innovations was that Ukrainians began to receive electronic prescriptions. It will be recalled that this program includes a total of 258 drugs, 64 of which are free for patients, others - with a small surcharge.
To obtain an electronic prescription, you need to contact a family doctor, therapist or pediatrician with whom the patient has previously signed a declaration. The doctor enters the patient’s mobile number into the electronic system, after which the patient will receive an SMS with two numbers: a unique prescription number and a confirmation code for receiving medication at the pharmacy. Soon, patients are promised to translate into the digital plane and medical records.
Inclusive education
Unfortunately, Ukraine lags far behind European countries in terms of inclusiveness, but we are still taking the right steps in this direction. Back in 2018, the Cabinet of Ministers adopted a resolution to support inclusive education. Hundreds of inclusive resource centers (IRCs) have recently opened in the country. These centers are needed to help children with disabilities to adapt to learning and living, to receive support from professionals, parents of special children, there will also be able to receive counseling and psychological assistance.
As of 2019, there are 603 inclusive resource centers in the country, and another 96 institutions with inclusive education are planned to be created by the end of 2020.
In addition, according to the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, at the beginning of 2019 in Ukraine the number of schools with inclusion increased 2.5 times and amounted to 3788 schools. More than 11,000 children with special needs study there, which is three times more than before. In kindergartens in Ukraine, the number of inclusive groups increased from 732 in 2016 to 1,318 in early 2019, and these groups now educate 2,190 children with special needs.
According to statistics, 11,560 schools (about 74% of the total number of schools in the country) in Ukraine are provided with barrier-free space, however, only up to the first floor. This means that there are ramps, lifts or an emergency call button at the entrance to the school. Of these, 69% (10781 schools) are provided with ramps, 23% (3664 schools) with call buttons, and 18% (2864 schools) with information indexes. Less than 5% of schools have specially equipped toilets for children with disabilities (746).
Inclusive norms for construction
The updated list of state building norms (DBN) also introduced new requirements for the accessibility of buildings, which came into force in April 2019. These rules are designed to facilitate movement for all people with disabilities and low mobility groups.
For example, in the subway, according to the new rules, the floor on the platform and in the lobbies of the stations must be non-slip; at stations and in adjacent underground passages, on the way passengers must be equipped with navigation systems, the width of the door at the entrance / exit from the station must be at least 0.9 m; at the new stations there will be only freight and passenger elevators, but at the reconstructed and old stations it will be allowed to duplicate the steps with special lifts.
From September 1, 2019, when building metro stations, toilets must be designed for passengers who will be at the entrance / exit of the station. These bathrooms must be accessible to all groups, including people with disabilities.
The norm of arrangement of accessible bathrooms applies to other large public facilities, namely airports, railway stations, stadiums, shopping and entertainment centers. It is noted that the universal cabins of bathrooms must be equipped with the necessary plumbing and handrails, as well as have a width of at least 1.65 meters and a depth of at least 1.8 meters.
Also, at least 10% of open parking spaces should be for people with disabilities, it is assumed that the area of such a parking space should be at least 3.5 meters, and the parking spaces themselves should be located no further than 50 meters from the accessible entrance for people with disabilities into the building, near residential buildings - no further than 100 meters.
In addition, the new DBN prescribed the creation of barrier-free space in cafes, restaurants, shops, supermarkets, cinemas, etc. This means that it is necessary to arrange seats for people with disabilities in cafes, as well as provide all facilities with ramps and elevators. Cinemas, theaters, philharmonics, operas and other concert establishments should also be accessible to people with disabilities.
Law and philanthropy
As for the situation in the field of interaction between the state and the third sector, everything also remains unchanged for a year in a row. The extremely inconvenient and morally outdated law "On Charity", which would exempt charitable assistance from income tax, continues to "irritate" anyone who has at least some professional attitude to charity.
This law does not stimulate, but, on the contrary, inhibits the development of charity in our country. We hope that in the new year, by joint efforts with other public and charitable organizations, we will be able to move this stone, and help sick children will be even easier. And about all the innovations and changes in the legal framework of charity, we will tell in new materials on the website of the Foundation.
As we can see, a lot has changed in 2019 and many innovations are planned for 2020, which will help make life easier for Ukrainians, make medicine better and education more accessible. It is hoped that they will all come to life and will not be left in a long drawer.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Author Anastasia Ishchenko
Photo unsplash
More materials in our section - News .
Benefits for people with disabilities
In Ukraine, the amount of benefits for people with disabilities is tied to the subsistence level for people who have lost their ability to work. Due to the fact that the subsistence level has increased several times this year, the payments themselves have increased.
Thus, as of January 1, 2019, the amount of payments was 1497 hryvnias, and on December 1, 2019 - 1638 hryvnias. It is planned that from the middle of 2020 this amount will increase to UAH 1,712.
Medical
reform Medical reform has been going on in the country for several years now. So far, not everything is going smoothly, but some changes are already there. Thus, by April 2019, all Ukrainians had to find a family doctor and sign a declaration with him. But there is no deadline for signing a contract with a doctor and people can sign a declaration at any time to receive free care. By the way, now, according to the National Health Service, more than 28 million Ukrainians have signed declarations with doctors.
Also, in 2019 the second stage of medical reform was to start. It was planned that the Ministry of Health will determine a specific list of free diagnostics and Ukrainians will be able to use certain services for free. But this innovation has not started to work, and now the Ministry of Health says that its introduction early next year is also in question, because so far medical institutions are not fully ready for autonomy. Emergency aid reform was also planned, but so far it is working only as a pilot project in several regions - Vinnytsia, Donetsk, Odesa, Poltava, Ternopil regions and Kyiv. In these regions there are two ambulances - emergency, which leaves only if urgent hospitalization is required; and urgent, which will come in the event that there is no threat to life, but there is a threat to health: exacerbation of chronic disease, fever or high blood pressure.
The pilot project provides for:
- purchase of specialized ambulances;
- equipment for the training departments of the centers of emergency medical care and disaster medicine (CEMD);
- hardware and software complex of dispatching services of the centers of emergency medical care and disaster medicine.
After the reform, the team will include an emergency medical technician and two paramedics who will be able to take the person to the hospital and provide pre-hospital care. But in addition, there will be medical teams that will go on calls that require medical intervention.
It is also known that the National Health Service of Ukraine (NHSU) has been involved in the state program "Affordable Medicines" since April 1, and one of the innovations was that Ukrainians began to receive electronic prescriptions. It will be recalled that this program includes a total of 258 drugs, 64 of which are free for patients, others - with a small surcharge.
To obtain an electronic prescription, you need to contact a family doctor, therapist or pediatrician with whom the patient has previously signed a declaration. The doctor enters the patient’s mobile number into the electronic system, after which the patient will receive an SMS with two numbers: a unique prescription number and a confirmation code for receiving medication at the pharmacy. Soon, patients are promised to translate into the digital plane and medical records.
Inclusive education
Unfortunately, Ukraine lags far behind European countries in terms of inclusiveness, but we are still taking the right steps in this direction. Back in 2018, the Cabinet of Ministers adopted a resolution to support inclusive education. Hundreds of inclusive resource centers (IRCs) have recently opened in the country. These centers are needed to help children with disabilities to adapt to learning and living, to receive support from professionals, parents of special children, there will also be able to receive counseling and psychological assistance.
As of 2019, there are 603 inclusive resource centers in the country, and another 96 institutions with inclusive education are planned to be created by the end of 2020. In addition, according to the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, at the beginning of 2019 in Ukraine the number of schools with inclusion increased 2.5 times and amounted to 3788 schools. More than 11,000 children with special needs study there, which is three times more than before. In kindergartens in Ukraine, the number of inclusive groups increased from 732 in 2016 to 1,318 in early 2019, and these groups now educate 2,190 children with special needs.
According to statistics, 11,560 schools (about 74% of the total number of schools in the country) in Ukraine are provided with barrier-free space, however, only up to the first floor. This means that there are ramps, lifts or an emergency call button at the entrance to the school. Of these, 69% (10781 schools) are provided with ramps, 23% (3664 schools) with call buttons, and 18% (2864 schools) with information indexes. Less than 5% of schools have specially equipped toilets for children with disabilities (746).
Inclusive norms for construction
The updated list of state building norms (DBN) also introduced new requirements for the accessibility of buildings, which came into force in April 2019. These rules are designed to facilitate movement for all people with disabilities and low mobility groups.
For example, in the subway, according to the new rules, the floor on the platform and in the lobbies of the stations must be non-slip; at stations and in adjacent underground passages, on the way passengers must be equipped with navigation systems, the width of the door at the entrance / exit from the station must be at least 0.9 m; at the new stations there will be only freight and passenger elevators, but at the reconstructed and old stations it will be allowed to duplicate the steps with special lifts.
From September 1, 2019, when building metro stations, toilets must be designed for passengers who will be at the entrance / exit of the station. These bathrooms must be accessible to all groups, including people with disabilities. The norm of arrangement of accessible bathrooms applies to other large public facilities, namely airports, railway stations, stadiums, shopping and entertainment centers. It is noted that the universal cabins of bathrooms must be equipped with the necessary plumbing and handrails, as well as have a width of at least 1.65 meters and a depth of at least 1.8 meters.
Also, at least 10% of open parking spaces should be for people with disabilities, it is assumed that the area of such a parking space should be at least 3.5 meters, and the parking spaces themselves should be located no further than 50 meters from the accessible entrance for people with disabilities into the building, near residential buildings - no further than 100 meters.
In addition, the new DBN prescribed the creation of barrier-free space in cafes, restaurants, shops, supermarkets, cinemas, etc. This means that it is necessary to arrange seats for people with disabilities in cafes, as well as provide all facilities with ramps and elevators. Cinemas, theaters, philharmonics, operas and other concert establishments should also be accessible to people with disabilities.
Law and philanthropy
As for the situation in the field of interaction between the state and the third sector, everything also remains unchanged for a year in a row. The extremely inconvenient and morally outdated law "On Charity", which would exempt charitable assistance from income tax, continues to "irritate" anyone who has at least some professional attitude to charity.
This law does not stimulate, but, on the contrary, inhibits the development of charity in our country. We hope that in the new year, by joint efforts with other public and charitable organizations, we will be able to move this stone, and help sick children will be even easier. And about all the innovations and changes in the legal framework of charity, we will tell in new materials on the website of the Foundation.
As we can see, a lot has changed in 2019 and many innovations are planned for 2020, which will help make life easier for Ukrainians, make medicine better and education more accessible. It is hoped that they will all come to life and will not be left in a long drawer.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Author Anastasia Ishchenko
Photo unsplash
More materials in our section - News .