Maternity ward closed in Balvi, leaving expectant mothers near the border without local care

Since September, silence has surrounded the maternity department at Balvi Hospital, with services effectively no longer being provided even though no widely publicized announcement of a full closure has been made. The situation has left both residents and officials uncertain about what comes next.

Conflicting accounts

The Health Ministry states that the decision to close the department came from the hospital itself, describing it as the institution's own initiative. Balvi Hospital's management, however, offers a different explanation, attributing the closure to a lack of funding combined with an ongoing healthcare system reform that is affecting smaller regional hospitals' ability to maintain specialized services.

Impact on border-area residents

Pregnant women living in the border area around Balvi are bearing the brunt of the change. Without a local maternity department, they no longer have access to nearby midwifery services either. Even the simplest checks — such as listening to a baby's heartbeat — now require traveling to a more distant hospital. The nearest alternatives are the hospitals in Rēzekne or Valmiera, both roughly 100 kilometers from Balvi.

Such distances pose serious practical challenges for routine prenatal monitoring, given that expectant mothers typically need several check-ups with a doctor or midwife throughout pregnancy. For residents of the border region, this translates into additional time and financial costs, as well as heightened risk in situations requiring urgent care.

It remains unclear whether or when the maternity department at Balvi Hospital might resume operations, as the parties involved continue to offer differing accounts of the reasons behind the closure and what should happen next.