What is "day activities"?
Day activities should ideally both cover your need for assistance and contribute to meaningful content in everyday life through various social and physical activities. Meals are usually an important part of the offer, and preparing food together is often part of the activities. Offers and activities are often based on local conditions, seasons and the individual's needs and interests.
Some activities take place in premises connected to a nursing home or care homes, while others have no such connection. In some cases, activities are also provided in the user's own home or at other various locations.
If you are in good physical shape, physical activity often plays a large part. Such an activity can, for example, take place on a farm in the form of an "Inn på tunet" program.
The municipality's obligations
Your municipality generally has no statutory obligation to offer you day activities. In dialogue with you and possibly your relatives, the municipality will assess your needs and can choose to offer you day activities.
Day activities for people with dementia
Municipalities have an obligation to offer day activities for people with dementia. However, people with dementia do not have an individual right to be offered day activities. The municipality will assess whether a day activity would be appropriate for someone with dementia based on their individual needs.
Who is eligible for day activities?
If you need health and care services, the municipality can choose to offer you all or part of your needed follow-up as day activities. It could be, for example, that you need supervision throughout the day or assistance to prepare and eat food. The municipality can also choose to offer you day activities if you need to participate in meaningful activities.
Common reasons to offer day activities may be:
- little social network and lack of meaningful activities in everyday life
- need for supervision, practical help or healthcare follow-up
- as part of a rehabilitation programme
- need for respite for next of kin
How to apply for day activities
If the municipality believes you are in need of day activities, they can offer you the chance to take part in appropriate activities. If you believe that a particular day activity would benefit you, you can apply to the municipality to take part in it.
You can find out how to apply on the municipality's website or by contacting the municipality. The municipality will be able to tell you about the day activities that are available in your municipality.
Once you have applied, your municipality will be obliged to notify you of whether or not you are eligible to take part in the activity.
Right to appeal
You can appeal if you are not offered the chance to take part in day activities or if you believe you have been offered such activities on an insufficient number of days. The municipality will then explain the appeal procedure to you.
There is a patient and user ombudsman in every county. You can contact them for advice, guidance and information about your rights as a user or next of kin.