After injuring her eye on a weekend, a resident of Rezekne hoped to receive help at the local hospital, but it turned out that there was no ophthalmologist on duty there.
The Bez Tabu program (TV3) found that such and several other specialized doctors work around the clock only in Riga, which creates serious inconveniences for residents of the regions.
A resident of Rezekne, Gita, contacted the program's editorial office after injuring her eye while stacking firewood at home on Friday evening — a splinter got into it. She went to the Rezekne hospital, where she received first aid; however, a full examination, treatment, and prescription of medication were impossible because there was no ophthalmologist available during the night on weekdays and weekends.
As her condition did not improve and there were concerns that a delay could lead to serious consequences, experiencing severe pain, she traveled at night to Riga, located 250 kilometers away — to the Eastern Clinical University Hospital of Riga, which staff at the Rezekne hospital advised her to go to.
After calling other hospitals in Latvia, Bez Tabu found out that ophthalmologists and several other specialized doctors are on duty only in Riga. Regional hospitals provide the set of doctors determined by the state around the clock, and an ophthalmologist is not included in that set.
After the corneal damage was identified in Riga, Gita received the necessary medical assistance. In a conversation with journalists, the woman emphasized that time can be a decisive factor in eye injuries, which is why she immediately went to the capital, but she is concerned about other residents of the regions who, for objective reasons, cannot act as quickly.
"I feel sorry for those people who do not have a car because the ambulance would not take me. You have to think about where to find transport; it requires a lot of money — I spent 100 euros on fuel," the woman pointed out.
Gita intends to file a complaint with the Ministry of Health.
