In January and February 2024 a total of 255 people in Latvia received palliative care services. Currently there are four service providers in Latvia, and they operate across all of the country’s regions, as reported by Latvian National Health Service (NVD).
“Looking at results of the first months and judging by the results of surveys among service recipients and their relatives, we can conclude that the adoption of this important service was successful. At the same time, we continue monitoring all stages of this service in order to see where improvements could be added,” says NVD healthcare projects lead Jūlija Voropajeva.
Adoption of the new service continues gradually. The number of patients who receive this service will continue going up.
This year it is planned to divert more than EUR 6.7 million towards hospice care in patient residences. Nearly three thousand patients will receive this service.
As previously reported, starting with 2024 this service is provided to people who under under ruling of a 4th or 5th level council of doctors to receive recommended palliative care mobile team service*.
Service provision is to be commenced no later than within 24 hours of a patient signing up for it. If a patient was hospitalised at the moment of signing up for palliative care, provision of the service is to commence within 24 hours of the patient being discharged from hospital.
The service includes both health care and social assistance, and the patient has access to a certified palliative care doctor or internist, or a general practitioner, or an emergency medicine doctor, or a geriatrician, or anaesthesiologist reanimatologist, remote consultations, health care services provided by a physician’s assistant and/or a nurse, and the services of certified functional specialists – physiotherapist, occupational therapist, nutritionist, social care, psychosocial support and technical aids, NVD explains.
*The service is not available to those people who are in the records of the children’s palliative care office and already receive the services of the Children’s Palliative Care Society or other services of palliative care in the patient’s place of residence.
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