RIGA, Jun 18 (LETA) - Liene Cipule, the head of the Emergency Medical Service (NMPD), is not very optimistic about a quick solution to the lines at the admissions desk of the Pauls Stradins Clinical University Hospital (PSKUS).

In an interview with the Latvian television (LTV), Cipule said that the situation with ambulance crews waiting in line at Stradins Hospital is a long-standing one, dating back several years. She reiterated that such bottlenecks at certain times also paralyze the NMPD’s operations.

The official is pleased that a meeting of the parties involved took place and that a commitment to resolving the problems was expressed; however, until there is an agreement on measurable performance indicators and deadlines for achieving them, Cipule remains cautious, wondering whether this will be just another high-profile episode that briefly highlights the problems but fails to produce real solutions.

According to Cipule, the NMPD has proposed indicative targets for ensuring that patients are admitted to the hospital within 15 minutes, but these have not been endorsed, leading her to believe that solutions are only expected in the long term, not in the near future.

Cipule acknowledged that another problem is that people who do not actually need university-level hospital care end up being admitted, and that in Riga, this type of medical care is effectively provided by only two university-level hospitals, for which there are no alternatives.

As reported, following the formation of queues of NMPD crews at the PSKUS admissions desk, the Ministry of Health, the NMPD, and hospital representatives agreed on measures to improve the organization of patient flow and reduce the burden on hospitals, the Ministry of Health informed LETA.

A meeting was held at the ministry on Wednesday with NMPD administration and representatives from PSKUS and Riga East University Hospital (RAKUS) to discuss the organization of patient flow and ensure timely access to healthcare. This issue was brought to light by the queue of NMPD ambulances waiting at the PSKUS admissions desk, which resulted in delays for patients and could potentially have impacted the emergency teams’ ability to respond promptly.

Representatives of the clinical university hospitals emphasized that the top priority is to ensure an uninterrupted flow of acute patients. Several systemic causes affecting the balance of patient flow were identified. As noted by the Ministry of Health, these include insufficient access to other levels of healthcare, as a result of which a significant proportion of patients with less acute health problems seek care at emergency departments, the impact of the social care sector, and the growing number of patients with chronic conditions, as well as uneven involvement of regional hospitals in patient admissions and insufficient referral of patients to lower-level inpatient facilities in cases where the patient’s health condition permits it.

At the meeting, an agreement was reached on short-term operational solutions as well as long-term measures to improve the system, according to the Ministry of Health. PSKUS will continue to improve the organization of emergency medical patient flow by evaluating both internal operational processes and human resource allocation, as well as considering the possibility of engaging independent experts to evaluate and improve these processes.

The parties agreed to increase the number of inpatient beds in medical facilities both in Riga and outside Riga, to develop a more effective mechanism for transferring patients to hospitals of the appropriate level, if the patient’s health condition permits, and to strengthen and make broader use of on-call physician resources. On-call doctors provide medical assistance outside of family doctors’ working hours to all residents, regardless of whether they are registered with a family doctor’s practice.

In addition, efforts will be made to better inform residents about the availability of on-call doctors and to develop remote consultation solutions, the Ministry of Health reported.