Latvian Ministry of Health has turned to Riga City Council, inviting the municipal administration to significantly change traumatology patient care in Riga. The ministry also doubts whether Riga Maternity Hospital meets modern standards.
In his letter, Minister of Health Hosams Abu Meri said he is committed to “performing important changes to the organisation of healthcare services” in order to make healthcare services more accessible to Latvian resident and the entire healthcare system to become more sustainable.
One of the goals of the planned healthcare system reform is ensuring effective management of the hospital network, while also ensuring quality management for clinical hospitals and systematic development of supervision over the quality of medical procedures in the country.
The minister notes that inpatient traumatology and orthopaedic services in Riga are provided by three inpatient medical institutions – Riga Eastern Clinical University Hospital (RAKUS), the state “Traumatology and Orthopaedics Hospital”, and Riga 2nd Hospital.
According to the minister, it is planned to develop state-funded services in the fields of traumatology and orthopaedics at P.Stradins Clinical University Hospital and RAKUS.
The minister also believes that it is highly important to resolve the problem of insufficient care for patients suffering from chronic diseases in Riga and Riga healthcare planning territory. He says that the ministry made multiple attempts in the past to expand the number of hospital beds in Riga.
The minister also pointed towards problems with services provided by Riga Maternity Hospital. He says that when it comes to maternity-related medical services, Riga Maternity Hospital does not meet modern requirements for a safe environment.
The minister also asked his party comrade Mayor of Riga Vilnis Ķirsis to provide answers by the 29th of February.
The minister’s letter was reviewed by Riga City Council’s Social Affairs Committee. Members of the committee voiced different opinions about the ministry’s opinion, especially Riga Maternity Hospital, saying the claims about the hospital are untrue.
It was emphasized that the maternity hospital is currently the only health care institution in the country with an integrated quality management system that meets five standards: a quality management system, an environmental management system, an occupational safety and health system, an occupational safety and health system, and an anti-bribery management system are in place.
Once the head of the Social Affairs Committee Viesturs Kleinbergs doubted the ability of the Ministry of Health to strategically plan provision of services and the institution’s ability to find differences between regional hospitals, which have received enormous investments, and Riga municipality’s hospitals, which have not received a cent of investments from the state.
“My experience indicates they do not see the whole picture,” said Kleinbergs. He stressed that there has been a shortage of hospital beds in Riga since 2010. And this has been the case since the decision from the Ministry of Health to not provide 24-hour emergency medical services in Riga 1st Hospital. Since then, the hospital only provides outpatient, day care and diagnostics.
He also mentioned the unreasonable decisions made during the Covid-19 pandemic, when beds for Covid-19 patients were reserved in Riga 1st Hospital and Riga 2nd Hospital. The latter ceased providing traumatology services then.
New Unity member and Riga City Council deputy Edgars Ikstens, who is also a freelance advisor to the Minister of Health, is of a different opinion. He did not agree with the accusations towards the ministry. He invited members to take into account that state funding for medical services is limited and that the municipality needs to keep track of the whole situation in healthcare.
As Mayor of Riga Vilnis Ķirsis mentioned at a press-conference, he had a meeting scheduled with the minister, during which the two discussed these and other topics. The minister outlined plans for the future as he sees it. Ķirsis said it is food for thought and many of the arguments mentioned by the minister were logical.
Nevertheless, the municipality has its own interests and it does not want to end up in a helpless situation and become completely dependent on the state.
Ķirsis admits this is no simple issue that can be resolved easily – discussions are expected to reach some middle ground.
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