Hospital informed woman of her father’s death nearly two days later

A woman learned that her father had died at a hospital nearly two days after his death, LSM reported. Latvian law sets no specific deadline for hospitals to notify a patient’s relatives, the report found.

Sintija’s father was transferred on the evening of September 4 from a regional hospital to Gaiļezers, a branch of Riga East Clinical University Hospital. He died two hours later, but Sintija did not know. The following day, she called the hospital to ask about his condition and was repeatedly told that medical staff would call her back.

She learned of her father’s death on September 6. Sintija said she was outraged that nobody had informed her sooner.

Riga East Clinical University Hospital said it could not comment on the specific case because of data protection and patient confidentiality. Asked about its procedures for contacting patients’ relatives, the hospital said it acted in accordance with regulations.

Dina Lazdiņa, deputy head of the Health Inspectorate’s Healthcare Department, said regulations specify how a patient’s death must be documented but do not set a deadline for informing relatives. She said the matter is covered by healthcare institutions’ internal rules and involves workplace organisation and ethics.

The Health Inspectorate urged Sintija to submit a written complaint so it could investigate. The inspectorate said it would need to review the case, obtain an explanation from the hospital and examine the patient’s medical records before drawing conclusions.