On Wednesday, participants of the Social Affairs Committee of the Riga City Council discussed the healthcare development strategy in the capital municipality.
First, Second, and Maternity Hospital
Inga Solovyeva, head of the Health Department of the Riga City Council's Welfare Department, stated that the task of the First City Hospital is to "ensure accessibility to healthcare by providing and developing high-quality, effective, integrated outpatient healthcare services of a wide range"; the Second City Hospital sets similar goals, focusing on traumatology and orthopedics, while its function is to "ensure accessibility for home healthcare". The Riga Maternity Hospital ensures "health in the field of obstetrics and perinatal medicine". Finally, the Riga Health Center (Rīgas veselības centrs) is obliged to "ensure accessibility to healthcare".
Cause of Queues Found
Ms. Solovyeva also explained the problem of queues in medical institutions: patients register for several state-funded procedures at once, but in case of expected no-shows, they do not cancel in time, leading to idle time for medical staff.
One possible solution is to limit registration options – to only one place.
Can We Sell and Forget?
Meanwhile, the Welfare Department released its "alternative" opinion regarding the future of the capital's hospitals. As the first option, it considers... privatization. However, it is immediately assessed as undesirable.
The possibility of relocating the services of the Second Hospital to Stradiņš is also weighed. This is not very favorable either.
The question of transferring the maternity hospital to private hands was also studied. The summary states: "Transferring maternity services to the private sector would directly jeopardize the implementation of the maternal and child health improvement plan for 2025-2027. There are no providers in the private sector to whom this service could be transferred."
The question is certainly interesting – as well as why the second part of the Social Committee meeting was declared... closed. However, it is still possible for citizens to find out what was discussed, judging by the official agenda on the municipal portal: reports on audits in municipal institutions were discussed…
