Waiting Lists for Children's Eye Doctors: Plan to Shift Some Patients to Optometrists
Access to state-funded paediatric ophthalmologists (eye doctors) in Latvia is unequal, with waiting times differing by hundreds of days between cities. Experts propose a system change, with first steps planned from 1 January.
Children in Latvia do not have equal access to a state-funded paediatric ophthalmologist, or eye doctor. Waiting times in one city can differ from those in another by hundreds of days.
The Children's Hospital has managed to cut its own waiting time to about two months. Experts say, however, that this is not enough and that a long-term solution requires a change in how patients are admitted and seen.
What is planned
The main proposal is to hand part of the primary care patients over to optometrists. The first steps towards this change are planned as early as 1 January.
The source does not specify which patient groups will be transferred or how, and it gives no exact figures on waiting times in individual cities.
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