The Adaptation Of Health Care Services To The Demand For Health Care And Health Care Services Of People In Marginal Situation

This publication contains the text of Recommendation Rec (2001)12 adopted by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe in October 2001, together with an explanatory memorandum. This recommendation aims to protect and improve the health of people living in poverty by proposing a multi-sectoral approach which promotes preventive action and the creation of supportive environments. This approach seeks to avoid stigmatisation, since measures adopted to improve access for the socially vulnerable also serve the general population.

Worldwide diseases have changed to include more chronic conditions, while the majority of current health systems continue to provide treatment and acute care rather than continuity of care. Even more dramatic changes in the health needs of the world population are anticipated, with non-communicable diseases as the leading cause of disability.This publication, drawn up by a Council of Europe Committee of Experts, proposes appropriate means of prevention aimed at reducing disabilities caused by chronic disease. Recommendations made include: the setting up of individualised programmes of psycho-social rehabilitation aimed at the full development of the person, and the adoptions of measures to promote the full integration of people with disabilities into society.

The Council of Europe is convinced of the need to improve access to social rights as a key means of combating poverty and social exclusion and in promoting social cohesion. The report on access to social rights in Europe is mainly based on the results of the activities related to access to employment, social protection and housing, as well as relevant work carried out within the Council of Europe in the fields of health and education. This report analyses the obstacles impeding access to different social rights within and across a range of fields. It also gives examples of how obstacles are being overcome, examines integrated measures implemented in the member states of the Council of Europe and identifies the principles on which measures to improve access to social rights should be based. Finally, the report develops cross-sectoral policy guidelines aimed at facilitating access to social rights.

Despite the progress made in the social rights field in Europe, many fundamental social rights are still not fully accessible to people with disabilities. This report examines key measures and identifies obstacles to full participation, particularly in the areas of education, vocational training and employment, the built environment and transport, information and communication, healthcare and social protection. It provides examples of good practice and makes cross-sectoral recommendations for integrated policy actions.

The training program for Roma mediators, launched in 2011, is unique in terms of the fundamental effects it produces, both in Europe at large and in the 47 member states of the Council of Europe. This work sets out to contextualize the initiatives taken, highlight their utility and evaluate them. It is intended to provide guidance for the program leaders, enable active participants (trainers, mediators, employers and others) to see their efforts as part of an overall scheme, help policy makers to take the right decisions and describe and explain the operation to a broader audience. The program's activities concerning Roma are a model for positive action. They make an effective contribution to European co-operation, action to combat discrimination and marginalization and the search for ways to improve difficult situations. ROMED therefore helps to fuel the development of intercultural policies capable of managing present-day societies, of which diversity and pluralism are the hallmarks.