RIGA - There is no need to open another hospital in Riga, but additional beds should be added to existing medical facilities, Health Minister Hosams Abu Meri (New Unity) said in an interview with the Latvian Television.
The minister expressed this view after he was asked why lines of emergency medical vehicles still form from time to time at the admissions department of the Pauls Stradins Clinical University Hospital.
Abu Meri acknowledged that such lines form very rarely - a few times a year - and that they can be reduced or eliminated by making improvements to Stradins Hospital’s internal system.
When asked whether Riga needs another hospital, the minister responded in the negative, pointing out that this would once again highlight the shortage of specialists. Instead, in his view, there should be more beds in existing smaller hospitals for the care of chronic patients, in order to relieve the burden on university hospitals.
"We are prepared to explore options through the National Health Service and the government to fund additional beds, since we already pay university hospitals more per bed than we would at a local hospital," Abu Meri stated. As a result, for example, residents of Riga could recover at local, smaller hospitals after undergoing surgery at a university hospital.
The politician added that no additional funding would be needed for this purpose; instead, funds could be reallocated from university hospitals, which would use the corresponding savings as a result of the transferred patients.
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