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With absolute unanimity the National Council for social inclusion approved the Action Plan of the National Strategy for long-term care for the period 2018-2021. The meeting was chaired by the minister of labour and social policy Biser Petkov.

The main purpose of this document is to improve the quality of life and the opportunities for social inclusion of people with disabilities and elderly people through the provision of a network of services and measures for community-based support and home care, deputy minister Rositsa Dimitrova said at the Action Plan’s presentation. The priority target groups will be people with mental deficits and psychological disorders, people with various forms of dementia, old people unable to take care of themselves and long-term patients of the state psychiatric hospitals.

The plan envisages the development of patronage care for people with disabilities and elderly people dependent on care at district level. Transport expenses are planned for its provision. The delivery of home-based social services will also continue – personal assistant, social assistant and household helper. More than 30 000 people will be covered by these activities.

The document states that by 2021 ten specialized institutions for persons with psychological disorders and mental deficits where the living conditions are the worst should be closed down. Around 750 people will be taken out of them and provided with good quality care and support in new, community-based conditions.

In the next four years the development of 100 new social services is planned for more than 2100 users. They will include 68 care centres for people with disabilities and elderly people, day centres and social rehabilitation centres for people with mental deficits and psychological disorders. By 31 January 2018 the Social Assistance Agency and the National Association of Municipalities in Bulgaria will draw a map the social services to be introduced in the country.

The Action Plan also includes measures for increasing the qualification of the new social worker teams. They will be engaged in the selection and assessment of the users that will be taken out of the specialized institutions and accommodated in the newly constructed social service centres. The plan will be implemented with state funding and financing from the operational programmes Human Resources Development and Regions in Growth. The document will be presented for discussion to the Council of Ministers.