Plan to shorten queues for children's eye doctors by changing patient intake system
Access to a state-funded paediatric ophthalmologist (eye doctor) in Latvia is unequal, with waiting times differing by hundreds of days between cities. Experts say the system should change in the long term by shifting some patients to optometrists, with first steps planned from 1 January.
Children in Latvia do not have equal access to a state-funded eye doctor, known as an ophthalmologist. The waiting time for an appointment in one city can differ from that in another by hundreds of days. This means a child's chance of receiving timely eye care depends on where the family lives.
Shorter wait at the hospital
The Children's Hospital has managed to cut its waiting time to roughly two months. That is an improvement, but it does not solve the problem across the country.
What experts recommend
Experts say individual measures are not enough in the long run and that the system itself needs to change. The solution they propose is to hand part of the primary care patients over to optometrists. Primary care is the first level at which a patient seeks help before being referred to a narrower specialist. If optometrists take on some of these patients, queues for eye doctors could become shorter.
When changes begin
The first steps towards the changes are planned from 1 January. The source does not describe in more detail what exactly these steps will be or how the patient intake procedure will change.
The changes are intended to reduce inequality between cities and shorten the wait for a state-funded children's eye appointment, so that children can receive help sooner wherever they live.
