Third Medical Centre Building Under Construction in Kuldīga, Including an Operating Theatre
At Smilšu iela 18 in Kuldīga, the Medical Centre is expanding: the second building is due in March, while the third, a roughly 1,800 m2 structure with an operating theatre, is due at the end of next year. The centre's chief wants smoother cooperation with the local municipality.
A year after the new medical practice opened at Smilšu iela 18 in Kuldīga, western Latvia, the private Medical Centre is continuing to expand. A second building is being rebuilt next door, and a third is rising quickly: a new two-storey building with an attic level, covering about 1,800 m2. It is planned to house additional medical services and an operating theatre, and is due for completion in 15 months, at the end of next year. Once all three buildings are finished, the Medical Centre's total floor area will be about 3,500 m2.
Second building nearing completion
The second phase is being built by the company Rietumu būvvadība and should be finished in March. It will include space for a medical goods shop and a small cafe. The second floor will hold consulting rooms for polyclinic specialists, and the third floor will be used for rehabilitation.
Early diagnostics as the priority
Ivars Eglītis, chairman of the management board of SIA Medicīnas centrs, says early diagnostics is the main priority. The centre plans to offer laboratory tests, imaging diagnostics, endoscopy, skin examinations and heart examinations. Its development is based on cooperation with private service providers experienced in different fields of medicine, a model he says allows infrastructure and medical equipment to be used more efficiently.
Eglītis rejects the claim that services here are available only to wealthy patients. He says the centre already provides state-funded services, and some examinations are covered by health insurance.
Specialists will be able to use the operating theatre in the attic by arriving with their own team and equipment. Eglītis believes medical services cannot be planned around the population of a single town, so patients from a wider area need to be attracted.
Difficulties with the municipality and trees
The third building is being constructed by Aimasa, a company from Valmiera, and the project was designed by the Diāna Zalāne design office. Eglītis views the builders' pace positively, but problems have arisen with the organisation of the construction site and with trees. Temporary structures could not be placed in the original location, and he says the municipality took too long to approve the alternative.
When the foundations were dug, the roots of an ash and a linden turned out to be closer to the building than expected. The Medical Centre has commissioned an independent arborist's assessment, while the municipality has referred the ash issue to the Nature Conservation Agency. Until an assessment and decision are made, it is unclear how the matter will be resolved. Eglītis says he does not want to blame the municipality but hopes for smoother cooperation.
