Re:Check says ZZS, LPV politicians mislead on hospitals and fuel

Latvian public broadcaster LSM’s Re:Check reported that politicians from the Union of Greens and Farmers (ZZS) and Latvia First (LPV) misled the public about hospital reform and limits on fuel prices. The report examined an online video by Economy Minister Viktors Valainis, a ZZS politician, about the planned changes to the hospital network.

Valainis said ZZS had appealed to the Constitutional Court to challenge the reform. In the video, he claimed Zemgale would have no regional hospitals, naming Jelgava, Dobele, Tukums and Bauska, and adding that there would be none in Jēkabpils either.

The government decided this summer to classify hospitals in three levels instead of five: local, regional and multi-profile. Zemgale will have regional hospitals in Jelgava, Jēkabpils and Ogre. These hospitals are to provide a relatively broad range of specialist care, including surgery, traumatology and acute inpatient care, with emergency and patient admission departments operating around the clock.

Valainis told Re:Check that he had described the changes in terms residents would understand. Several hospitals currently classified at the fourth level will become multi-profile hospitals, he said, while Jelgava and Jēkabpils will remain regional hospitals. He also claimed that Zemgale residents would have to travel to Riga to receive regional-level services.

The Health Ministry told Re:Check that the reform would not change the range of services provided in Jelgava or Ogre. Jēkabpils will not offer traumatology, but its hospital suspended the service in February because of a shortage of specialists. The suspension followed the removal of two traumatologists from their posts over suspected substandard work. Re:Check concluded that Valainis was wrong to say Zemgale would have no regional hospitals or that significant changes were expected in those cities.

The report also examined politicians’ statements about value-added tax on fuel.