As a result of the local government reform, municipalities have been assigned more tasks within health care. After the reform, they are now responsible for rehabilitation, home care, health care, prevention of abuse, dental care, as well as promotion of health.
As a result of the local government reform, municipalities have been assigned more tasks within health care. After the reform, they are now responsible for rehabilitation, home care, health care, prevention of abuse, dental care, as well as promotion of health.
The prevention means that the municipality is responsible for the conditions for a healthy life. The municipalities are, among other things, and in cooperation with local doctors and other health institutions, responsible for providing information to the citizens on, for instance, how to live a healthy life, how to avoid diabetes 2, etc.
The additional tasks also include financing of these activities, and municipalities in Denmark now have direct co-responsibility for their citizens' use of hospital services.
The former tasks of the municipalities, such as visits by a district nurse to young mothers who have just had a baby to make sure that they are both thrive, still exist. In addition, municipalities are responsible for home care where the reform has entailed a stronger focus on the municipalities' role in preventing hospitalisation.
In other words, municipalities have become more involved in health care. The changing demography and the fact that the number of elderly people who averagely will live longer increases – with less people to take care of them – will present more challenges in the years to come. Therefore, there are many projects in the Danish municipalities that involve efforts to make sure that this approaching problem is solved in the best way possible.