The deficit of state-funded outpatient services in Latvia is so great that it can only be resolved through additional funding, said in an interview on the TV3 program "900 Seconds" the chairman of the board of the Latvian Hospital Association (LHA) Artūrs Berziņš, as reported by LETA.
According to him, even a family doctor, when trying to refer a patient for state-funded outpatient examinations or to a specialist, understands that the waiting list will be so long that the only real opportunity to receive this service in a timely manner at the expense of the budget will be to go to the hospital's emergency department. This means that a situation has been created in which hospitals are forced to spend available funding incorrectly, noted Berziņš.
The representative of the hospital association emphasized that the deficit of state-funded outpatient services remains very significant year after year, which means that the problem has already worsened, and health issues among patients are accumulating.
"The demand is so high while services are in deficit, and only through increased funding can this fire in the outpatient sector be extinguished," said Berziņš.
He added that increasing the availability of outpatient services would reduce the burden on hospital emergency departments and also decrease the number of patients with advanced diseases.
Berziņš also reiterated the problem of the shortage of medical personnel, which forces the industry to raise salaries, while state institutions are no longer able to hire workers.
The head of the Latvian Hospital Association believes that Latvia has approached a threshold beyond which the next step will be classic paid medicine.
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