Since the Covid-19 pandemic, little has been done to prepare the medical system for future crises, and strategic mistakes are being made, including the failure to complete basic projects such as the construction of university hospital infrastructure, which is critically important in overcoming crises, said Uga Dumpis, the country’s chief infectious disease specialist during the pandemic, in an interview on TV3’s “900 seconds” programme.
Asked how prepared the medical system is now for various types of crises, such as another viral pandemic or war, Dumpis, infectious disease specialist at Pauls Stradiņš Clinical University Hospital and professor, concluded that not much has been accomplished.
He emphasized that critical construction has come to a standstill, university hospitals have failed to build absolutely necessary infrastructure using European funds, such as emergency departments or intensive care units at Stradiņš Hospital.
“We’re standing still. At the very least we’ve missed all the deadlines,” he said, recalling one of the key takeaways from the Covid-19 pandemic: just how vital infrastructure is for crisis management.
Dumpis reminded that university hospitals carried the main burden during the pandemic.
“Five years on and we are standing still. It is not the doctors’ fault that they cannot build and spend European money. It is a strategic mistake that we still cannot complete elementary things. This is not a railway worth billions, it is just a few buildings,” Dumpis criticised.
The doctor recalled that the construction of the Stradiņš Hospital Emergency Medical Centre was carried out in the 1970s. This department often receives twice as many patients as it can accommodate. “And this, of course, has risks. It’s not a full tram where you go two stops. It’s where sick people stay for several hours, sometimes several days,” he explained, pointing out that this puts patients at risk.
He also stressed that the information systems in the sector are extremely outdated, and in this respect Latvia is probably 20 years behind Estonia.
When asked if anything should have been done differently during the pandemic, Dumpis stated that the biggest mistake was made in the autumn of 2021. At that time, vaccines were available, but many seniors remained unvaccinated, and restrictions were not introduced. As a result, the healthcare system came under immense pressure, and many seniors lost their lives.
In his view, the responsibility for that decision lies with politicians, as experts had warned that the situation would deteriorate. “There was a political debate, and restrictions were introduced two weeks too late. So, I would say, the experts did sound the alarm at the time,” he said.
Dumpis also emphasized that international experience shows that countries with strong healthcare systems managed the crisis best.
Additionally, he stressed the crucial importance of crisis communication, especially the need for public trust in authorities.
He also pointed out that very few people truly understand how monumental the role of vaccines was. He underlined that without them, society would have lived under restrictions for many more years.