Rehabilitation for persons with multiple sclerosis
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Rehabilitation for persons with multiple sclerosis is intended for adults aged 18 or over who have been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Rehabilitation is offered in the form of group rehabilitation. The group meets on the service provider’s premises. The rehabilitation course lasts for either 5 or 10 days.
The rehabilitation course is free of charge.
Who is the rehabilitation course for?
Rehabilitation for persons with multiple sclerosis is suited for adults aged 18 or over who have been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and who have enough functional capacity
- to be able to move around on the service provider’s premises without needing constant assistance
- to participate in group rehabilitation.
5-day rehabilitation course
This rehabilitation course will help you adapt to the changes and new reality brought on by your condition.
The aim of rehabilitation is to
- secure and improve your capacity for work and study and your functional capacity
- support the self-treatment of your condition
- improve your life management skills and help you find ways to continue to live a full and independent life to the best extent possible despite your condition.
The rehabilitation course also offers you the opportunity to get support from your peers and share your experiences with others.
The rehabilitation course will be held on the service provider’s premises. You can stay overnight at the rehabilitation facility or travel there from home each day.
The facility offers accommodation in two-person rooms (double rooms). If you want to stay in a single room, you can ask the service provider if they have single rooms available. You have to pay the extra costs of staying in a single room yourself.
At the end of the rehabilitation programme, an adult family member or friend can join you and accompany you for 2 days. They will usually stay in the same double room with you if you are staying at the rehabilitation facility.
During the rehabilitation course, you will, for example, work in small groups, participate in group discussions and have one-on-one meetings with rehabilitation experts. The rehabilitation needs and goals of each participant are taken into account.
The service provider will contact you before and after the rehabilitation course.
The rehabilitation course is offered separately in Finnish and Swedish. The course is offered in Finnish to Sámi-speaking customers. They can be assigned an interpreter if necessary.
The following experts will plan and manage your rehabilitation programme:
- a specialist in neurology
- a registered nurse or public health nurse
- a physiotherapist
- a psychologist or a neuropsychologist
Depending on your individual needs, other rehabilitation professionals and assisting personnel may also take part.
10-day rehabilitation course
The aim of this rehabilitation course is to
- teach you ways to understand and manage the challenges and practical difficulties caused by your condition
- support your self-rehabilitation, which means rehabilitation you do yourself in your daily life
- give you more resources and better capabilities to manage your daily life and participate in society.
The rehabilitation course also offers you the opportunity to get support from your peers and share your experiences with others.
Rehabilitation courses are offered separately to
- persons who are working
- persons outside working life.
The rehabilitation course will be held on the service provider’s premises. It is offered in 2 periods with a break in between. You can stay overnight at the rehabilitation facility or travel there from home each day.
The facility offers accommodation in two-person rooms (double rooms). If you want to stay in a single room, you can ask the service provider if they have single rooms available. You have to pay the extra costs of staying in a single room yourself.
At the end of the rehabilitation programme, an adult family member or friend can join you and accompany you for 3 days. They will usually stay in the same double room with you if you are staying at the rehabilitation facility.
During the rehabilitation course, you will, for example, work in small groups, participate in group discussions and have one-on-one meetings with rehabilitation experts. The rehabilitation needs and goals of each participant are taken into account.
The service provider will contact you before the rehabilitation course begins, after the first rehabilitation period is over and after you have completed both rehabilitation periods.
The rehabilitation course is offered in Finnish. If you speak Swedish or one of the Sámi languages, Kela will provide an interpreter for you.
The following experts will plan and manage your rehabilitation programme:
- a specialist in neurology
- a registered nurse or public health nurse
- a physiotherapist
- a psychologist or a neuropsychologist
- a social worker, Bachelor of Social Sciences or rehabilitation instructor.
Depending on your individual needs, other rehabilitation professionals and assisting personnel may also take part.
How to apply
This rehabilitation can be granted either as discretionary rehabilitation or as intensive medical rehabilitation.
- If you want to apply for discretionary rehabilitation, you need a medical statement B (B-lausunto) or a medical statement BC (BC-lausunto) issued by a doctor, or some other statement on your health, such as a copy of your medical history (sairauskertomus). The medical statement or health statement must be dated within the past year.
- If you want to apply for intensive medical rehabilitation, you must submit a rehabilitation plan (kuntoutussuunnitelma) that a doctor who works in public healthcare has drawn up for you.
The medical statement B, medical statement BC or health statement must state what condition you have that qualifies you for rehabilitation, how well you can function, what kind of rehabilitation is recommended for you and why.
If you are not sure which type of rehabilitation you should apply for, please ask the doctor in charge of your care.
If you apply for discretionary rehabilitation, we will contact you if you may have the right to intensive medical rehabilitation instead.
Once you have a medical statement B, a medical statement BC, a health statement or a rehabilitation plan, do as follows:
- Complete the application form for discretionary rehabilitation KU 132 (PDF, in Finnish) or the application form for intensive medical rehabilitation KU 104e (PDF).
- Save the blank form to your device. Do not fill in the form directly in the browser because some of the information may not be saved that way.
- Open the form with Adobe Reader and fill it in.
- Tell us in the application which service provider’s rehabilitation you want to participate in. You can use Kela’s rehabilitation course search (in Finnish and Swedish only) to look up service providers. Type MS-tauti (multiple sclerosis) in the search field. In the search results, the 5-day rehabilitation course is called MS-sopeutumisvalmennus (adaptation training for multiple sclerosis) and the 10-day rehabilitation course is called MS-kuntoutuskurssi (rehabilitation course for multiple sclerosis).
- Save the completed application form on your device. Note that the application must be in PDF format.
- Send the application in the OmaKela e-service (available in Finnish and Swedish).
- Log in to OmaKela and select Tee hakemus tai ilmoita muutoksista (Submit an application or report changes). If you want to apply for rehabilitation on behalf of someone else, go to Asioi toisen henkilön puolesta (Act on behalf of another person). Read more about acting on behalf of another person.
- First select Sairastaminen ja kuntoutus (Sickness and rehabilitation). Then select Kuntoutus (Rehabilitation). Finally, select either Harkinnanvarainen kuntoutus (Discretionary rehabilitation) or Vaativa lääkinnällinen kuntoutus (Intensive medical rehabilitation).
- If you send your application to Kela in OmaKela, you do not need to sign it.
- If you have supporting documents, send them via OmaKela after you have submitted your application. If they are paper documents, you can photograph them.
- If you are applying for discretionary rehabilitation, send us a copy of your medical statement B, medical statement BC or health statement as a supporting document with your application.
- If you are applying for intensive medical rehabilitation, send us a copy of your rehabilitation plan as a supporting document with your application.
- Visit OmaKela to see if Kela has made a decision on your application. We will also send the decision notice to the rehabilitation service provider. This tells the service provider that Kela will pay for your rehabilitation, and the service provider will reserve a place for you on the rehabilitation course.
If you cannot use OmaKela, mail your application to Kela. Save the form to your device and fill it in after saving it. Print out the completed form and send it and any supporting documents to Kela, PL 10, 00056 KELA.
Apply for rehabilitation
Submit your application and supporting documents online.
Let us know if you cannot attend rehabilitation
Remember to tell Kela immediately if you cannot participate in the rehabilitation course. Let us know that you have to cancel by sending a message to us in the OmaKela e-service or by calling our customer service number for rehabilitation clients.
We recommend that you also contact the service provider to let them know you have to cancel.
Check if you can get rehabilitation allowance and travel cost reimbursements
Kela pays rehabilitation allowance to give you financial security during rehabilitation. Kela may also reimburse you for rehabilitation-related travel costs.