No special deal for elderly care in Suðuroy

Earlier this year, Suðuroy’s Residential Care Service threatened to relinquish responsibility for elderly care on the island due to financial restrictions. The service sent a statement to four ministers, including the Prime Minister, outlining its dire situation and requesting a special arrangement for elderly care on the island, similar to the one recently implemented Sandoy.

Prime Minister Aksel V. Johannesen has now responded to the plea, saying that after extensive investigations into how the island’s elderly care affects the general financial situation, there is no basis for an immediate change to the current system.

The Prime Minister’s letter to the Residential Care Service reads:

"The income basis in Suðuroy is lower than elsewhere in the country, but this is not the result of transferring elderly care services to the local authorities. On the contrary, the government believes that Suðuroy has a fair ratio between public funding and the number of 67+ citizens, compared with the rest of the country.”

Dennis Holm, mayor of Vágur and who is also the new head of the Residential Care Service, declines to comment until the administration has debated the matter in a meeting later today.

Translated by prosa.fo