Maternity ward in Balvi closed, leaving border-area pregnant women without local care
Since September, the maternity ward at Balvi Hospital has stopped operating, forcing pregnant women in the border region to travel to Rēzekne or Valmiera for even basic checkups. The Health Ministry and hospital management offer conflicting explanations for the closure.
The maternity ward at Balvi Hospital, located in Latvia's border region, has gone silent since September, no longer providing services to local pregnant women.
Conflicting explanations
The reasons behind the closure remain disputed. The Health Ministry states that the decision to close the ward came from the hospital itself. Balvi Hospital's management, however, attributes the closure to a lack of funding, along with an ongoing reform in the healthcare sector.
Impact on pregnant women
Without a functioning maternity ward, local residents must now travel much farther for medical care. Even a simple procedure such as listening to a baby's heartbeat now requires a trip to Rēzekne or Valmiera hospitals, both roughly 100 kilometers from Balvi. This means significantly longer journeys and higher costs for families who need regular prenatal monitoring.
The situation has left residents of the border region uncertain about what medical services will remain available to them and whether maternity care will continue to exist anywhere nearby.
