I got a letter from a Category 1 invalid asking for financial support. I sent a deputy’s request to the mayor of the town in which he lives. My thanks to the people from the Ministry and the Social Protection Division who dealt so promptly and attentively with this issue. It turned out that the disability pension that the man was getting was more than the subsistence level set for pensions in that region for the 2nd quarter of 2008. So by law he has no right to welfare assistance from the government. However, the people in the local social services departed looked into the man’s circumstances and decided that he needed a wheelchair and computer.
In June of this year the local welfare department supplied the man with a computer. To get a wheelchair there needs to be a medical and social review of his case. This is a kind of medical assessment to establish the causes and category of a disability, the extent to which working ability has been lost, and what kind of rehabilitation measures are required. It also provides recommendations on employment, after which an individual rehabilitation programme is drawn up.
The man will then have to submit an application for a wheelchair, presenting his passport and rehabilitation programme.