A special stream has sent thousands of elderly citizens into a 'legal nightmare'

Elderly residents are at risk of going without compression stockings due to a change in policy by the National Agency. In the past, municipalities have provided the stockings, but this solution has now completely fallen apart.

"It's completely unacceptable," says Sisse Marie Welling (SF), chair of the health committee at the Municipalities of Denmark, who calls it "completely incomprehensible." The chair of Region Midtjylland, Anders Kühnau (S), calls it "a really frustrating situation."

The issue lies with the National Agency, which in June 2022 issued a principle statement to help municipalities and regions distinguish between whether the stockings are a treatment tool or an aid.

"We're in the middle of a legal nightmare with the National Agency," says Sisse Marie Welling.

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Expensive affair

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At Ældre Sagen, they receive weekly inquiries from members who can no longer receive the help they are accustomed to. And it can become an economic burden for the individuals.

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What are compression stockings?

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Compression stockings can be classified by the degree of compression, the length of the stocking, the knitting pattern, and the quality of the material.

In everyday speech, they are called support stockings, which also include flight stockings and walking stockings, but they are not individually tailored.

Often, stockings for the knee level are sufficient, especially for poor circulation in the veins.

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Compression class 1 is used for superficial varicose veins, and if there is mild arterial calcification in the legs.

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Compression class 2 and 3 are used for poor venous circulation (venous insufficiency).

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Compression stockings should be taken into account when the legs are not elevated.

The stockings are put on in the morning and removed normally in the evening.

Source: Health.dk

Compression stockings can cost from 200 kroner for a set of "ordinary" compression stockings, while specially made ones can cost 800 kroner per stocking.

"In many situations, there is talk of people who have had these compression stockings for a long time and have received them free of charge from the municipality. Therefore, it is completely incomprehensible for us that they now find themselves in this situation," says Dorthe Bjerremand Erichsen, senior consultant at Ældre Sagen.

The National Agency came out with a new principle statement in 2024, which was supposed to bring clarity to the matter. However, KL and the Regions of Denmark do not believe this has been achieved.

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Lack of authority

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For municipalities to be able to provide the stockings, they must find authority for it in the service law, and after the National Agency's principle statement, many municipalities believe that this cannot be done in most cases.

"We're in the middle of a legal nightmare with the National Agency," says Sisse Marie Welling (SF), chair of the health committee at the Municipalities of Denmark.

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The service law's §112

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The municipal council must provide support for aids for persons with permanently reduced physical or mental functional ability, when the aid:

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can significantly alleviate the long-term consequences of the reduced functional ability,

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can significantly improve the daily life at home or

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is necessary for the person to be able to perform work.

Source: danskelove.dk

The 19 municipalities in Region Midtjylland have together with the region tried to appeal to the health minister and the social minister. They estimate that the problem in Region Midtjylland affects 25,000 residents.

The region also does not believe that they have the authority to provide the stockings.

"It's absolutely clear that we can't. When patients are discharged from the hospital, it is not a possibility for us to give the residents these stockings," says Anders Kühnau (S), who is the chair of Region Midtjylland.

Kühnau points to the National Agency's principle statement as the direct cause of the fact that there are now residents who are not being helped.

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Maybe it will get better in 2027

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In December 2023, the Regions of Denmark met with KL, Ældre Sagen, and several other organizations. The challenges with compression stockings and aids were on the agenda.

At the time, there was agreement that it would make sense to stop distinguishing between treatment tools and aids.

Warning: This article was translated by a Large Language Model, in case of doubt, you can always visit the original source.