Re:Check examines why Riga maternity ward closed family rooms

LSM’s Re:Check fact-checking project examined whether Riga Maternity Hospital closed several family rooms because of reduced state funding, as some politicians claimed, or whether the decision was solely the hospital’s responsibility.

Family rooms are rooms where new parents can stay together after their baby is born. News of their closure circulated on social media several weeks ago and was also used in political campaigning.

The Union of Greens and Farmers published a video in which Economics Minister Viktors Valainis called another parliamentary election candidate, doctor Pēteris Apinis, while standing in the hospital’s courtyard. Valainis said that 10 rooms had been closed. Apinis described the situation as a major mistake by the Ministry of Health and said funding for maternal and child health should be increased instead.

The National Alliance also said it would seek an explanation from Health Minister Hosams Abu Meri of New Unity, arguing that funding for maternal and child healthcare should not be reduced in the current demographic situation.

The National Health Service had previously said that the state’s planned funding for Riga Maternity Hospital was being reduced this year by about 750,000 euros, or 7.5 percent, because the birth rate had declined in recent years. The hospital recorded 5,800 births seven years ago, compared with 3,600 last year, resulting in a lower need for services.

However, after reports about the closed family rooms, the National Health Service said it was misleading to link the closures to the reduction in state funding. The family rooms on the hospital’s sixth floor are a paid service and are not financed from the state budget, it said.