Balvu hospital to close maternity ward in September

Balvu and Gulbene Hospital Association will close the maternity ward at Balvu Hospital in September, months before a hospital network reform takes effect, LSM reported. The Health Ministry said the National Health Service and patients should have been informed in advance and criticised the hospital’s communication after learning of the plan through public reports.

Inese Dadžāne, a midwife who worked in the Balvu maternity ward for 40 years, said she was struggling to accept the decision.

“It was my first, only and last workplace. When I talk about it, I cannot control my tears,” Dadžāne said.

She said staff had received the news suddenly and did not know what would happen to them. Some midwives have been offered work in the hospital’s admissions department, where they would be expected to perform nursing duties during 24-hour shifts.

The maternity ward’s renovated facilities opened three years ago and include seven modern rooms. However, they are used infrequently as the number of births in Balvi continues to fall. The ward recorded 140 births last year, compared with 190 the year before. During the summer, the monthly average has ranged from five to 16 babies.

Marika Jermaševiča, a member of the hospital board, said the closure was linked to the hospital network reform. From next year, the hospital would not have enough funding to provide round-the-clock shifts for a gynaecologist, she said.

Jermaševiča said the hospital planned to close the ward in September because it needed to reorganise its operations before the new rules take effect on January 1. Under those rules, a midwife would work in the admissions department.