Procedures for providing highly functional prostheses to military personnel have been simplified – the Verkhovna Rada considered the implementation of recommendations for providing for persons with disabilities
The Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine (MSP) has amended several resolutions regulating the provision of rehabilitation aids to Ukrainians and simplifying access to them. These and other measures were taken to implement the recommendations of the Accounting Chamber and the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Social Policy and Protection of Veterans' Rights, Minister of Social Policy Oksana Zholnovych announced at a recent meeting of the Committee.
Let us recall that the Report of the Accounting Chamber «On the results of the audit of the efficiency of the use of state budget funds to provide certain categories of the population with technical and other rehabilitation means», which provided relevant recommendations, was approved in October 2023. The auditors identified the reasons why the need for persons with disabilities in rehabilitation means was not fully and timely met: about a quarter of the number of rehabilitation means planned by the budget program was not provided. According to the conclusions of the Accounting Chamber, this happened, in particular, due to the incomplete development of funds allocated by the state. In addition, it was established that the regulatory and legal framework for providing persons with disabilities with rehabilitation aids was contradictory, regulatory and legal acts did not regulate the maximum level of administrative expenses and expenses for the sale and supply of rehabilitation aids, and the level of trade mark-up on rehabilitation aids was not legally limited. At the same time, the Ministry of Social Policy and the Fund for Social Protection of Persons with Disabilities did not have reliable reporting data on the provision of persons with disabilities with technical and other rehabilitation aids.
Based on the recommendations of the Accounting Chamber provided in this audit, the VRU Committee formulated 23 of its own recommendations and submitted them to the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, the Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine, the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine, the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, the Fund for Social Protection of Persons with Disabilities, and the National Social Service Service of Ukraine.
During the meeting of the VRU Committee, Minister Oksana Zholnovych reported that currently the state fully compensates the cost of rehabilitation aids, which, according to the law, must be provided to persons with disabilities and other specific categories of the population, and also provides assistance in determining the needs for housing for such citizens.
She noted that in accordance with the recommendations of the Accounting Chamber of the Ministry of Social Policy, in particular, forms of monitoring the provision of rehabilitation aids and information exchange in this regard have been introduced, and the procedures for replacing a stump receiver and providing highly functional prostheses, including military personnel, have been simplified. According to Oksana Zholnovych, the Ministry of Social Policy analyzed the features of the rehabilitation process of military personnel and concluded that this category of citizens needs to change and modernize approaches to providing highly functional prostheses. In addition, an online platform has been launched, which contains up-to-date information about the state prosthetics program, and a system for training prosthetists is also being developed.
In turn, Deputy Chairman of the Temporary Special Commission of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on the Legal Status, Medical Support, Psychological Assistance and Social Protection of War Veterans, Military Personnel and Their Family Members, People's Deputy Tetyana Tsyba noted that the Committee analyzed the materials provided and confirmed the partial implementation of the above recommendations. As a result, the VRU Committee took note of the information provided by the Ministry of Social Policy.
As for the recommendations of the Accounting Chamber on this issue, some of them were previously implemented by the Ministry of Social Policy. However, four more recommendations on improving the mechanism for providing rehabilitation aids are in the process of implementation. The Accounting Chamber is awaiting information from the control objects for further monitoring of the decision on the aforementioned audit.