The Ministry of Health hopes to reduce waiting times 0 23

The major problems in this area of medicine are insufficient skills of doctors in treating acute patients, the lack of a unified system, a shortage of orthopedic traumatologists, and long waiting times for joint replacement services. The Ministry of Health hopes to address these issues by implementing a unified appointment system, which will come into effect this year, as well as through a new payment model - patients will have the opportunity to receive the service faster by covering 50% of the cost of the operation and the implant.

After analyzing the problems in this field, the Ministry of Health concluded that hospitals generally have the necessary infrastructure; however, there is a lack of balance with the workload. The availability and variety of implants are also limited, and the exact volume of trauma care provided in hospitals has not been defined, said Sanita Janka, a representative of the Ministry of Health, at a meeting of the Saeima subcommittee on public health. Other issues include difficulties in ensuring timely rehabilitation and follow-up care, the absence of clinical guidelines in this area, and inadequate payment for patient treatment.

Janka reported that this year there are plans to develop a map for the provision of trauma services and clinical guidelines. When asked which hospitals will continue to provide these services, she replied that this will be known after negotiations with medical institutions, including regarding specialization in joint replacement. The National Health Service plans to change the payment model for major joint replacements, as the current system does not meet the modern needs of healthcare and the tariff does not cover the actual costs of medical institutions. The current model also limits the use of the most suitable implants for patients, and their range is narrow and technologically outdated, leading to more frequent repeat surgeries.