Parents face waits of up to a year for children’s healthcare

Parents in Latvia report widely varying waits for children’s medical appointments and examinations, from a few days when another patient cancels to as long as a year, LSM reported. The biggest problems are in children’s dentistry, where many families have lost hope of receiving treatment through state-funded quotas.

Lūcija Jērcīte, a mother of three from Rūjiena, travelled to Riga with her two daughters. One of the children needs frequent medical appointments, adding to the family’s expenses.

“With the Three Plus family card, I get a discount on the bus. We got up at five in the morning to come here. Ten euros. And by car? Sixty euros. With these fuel prices,” Jērcīte said.

She said waiting times had become especially difficult over the past two years. Her child needed to see a dermatologist urgently, but the family was offered an appointment in November. Even when paying privately, they could get an appointment only in mid-October, she said.

Another mother, Jūlija, said she had faced a 13-month wait for a paediatric ophthalmologist. After explaining that her child had a referral, the family received an earlier appointment in September.

Other parents interviewed by LSM described shorter waits. Sigita said a one-month wait was not long because her child needed an appointment only once a year. Maksims, the father of a girl named Radoslava, said they had found an appointment quickly by searching for an available provider.

Parents sometimes also benefit when another patient cancels. Vita said she usually waited three to six months, but had recently been told that an appointment had become available for the following day.

She said, however, that dental care was different. “I would say it is not free. We go only privately,” Vita said.