the old owner can’t afford them

To optimize cooperation between hospitals at both the state and regional levels, the Ministry of Health is considering the possibility of transferring regional hospitals to the state, according to a report submitted by the ministry for approval on the development and improvement of the management of inpatient health services.

Back in 2019, when introducing the division of hospitals into tiers, the ministry intended to consider the possibility of state participation in the activities of strategically important regional hospitals, but then the implementation of this idea was interrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic.

According to the Ministry of Health, such a model will significantly improve cooperation between hospitals both at the state and regional levels. At the same time, it will be easier for regional hospitals, as leading medical institutions within the hospital cooperation network, to represent the interests of the state and achieve common goals in healthcare.

In order for the hospital cooperation network to continue to be successful and for as many hospitals as possible to participate in it, the Ministry of Health believes that in cooperation with clinical university hospitals and regional hospitals it is necessary to define areas of responsibility and principles of cooperation.

The Ministry of Health noted that state participation in the activities of regional hospitals has a number of advantages. Among them are uniform quality of healthcare through the development and assessment of common criteria, closer cooperation between teaching university hospitals and regional hospitals aimed at improving the quality of services and human resource planning, improved coordination of hospitalization of patients, including the optimal plan for hospitalization of patients depending on their diagnosis and condition and treatment of inpatients at the proper level.

Another advantage will be the optimized distribution of funding depending on the volume and complexity of the medical services provided, aimed at achieving results, and the introduction of a unified system of remuneration and motivation.

First, the Ministry of Health intends to implement a pilot project at the Daugavpils Regional Hospital.

After an in-depth study of the hospital’s activities and the effectiveness of the planned state participation, a report “On state participation in Daugavpils Regional Hospital LLC” will be submitted to the Cabinet of Ministers, including research data, on the basis of which the ministry will present the following proposals. They provide for the free transfer of capital shares of the Daugavpils municipality to the state represented by the Ministry of Health or the investment of public funds in the fixed capital of the hospital.

By the way, Daugavpils Hospital is not some kind of medical center. It is the largest employer in all of Latgale, employing about 1,600 people. However, this fact speaks more about the level of development of entrepreneurship in the region than about the level of provision of medical services.