Valka Family Doctor to Close Practice: Patients Worry About Future
Family doctor Māris Nātra in Valka will stop seeing patients from August 13 because he could not find support staff. Residents are collecting signatures to urge institutions to find a solution.
The family doctor practice of Māris Nātra in Valka will close on August 13, as he was unable to hire physician assistants or nurses within two months. The doctor will be on planned leave starting August 6. The practice has 1,450 registered patients, mostly elderly people.
One staff member moved to the Emergency Medical Service, citing flexible hours, less workload and higher pay, while another is on maternity leave. No other family doctor in Valka has reported similar problems, although most are of pre-retirement or retirement age.
Valka resident Ieva Andersone has called on people to sign a support letter at the practice at Ausekļa Street 6. The letter is addressed to the Ministry of Health, the National Health Service (NHS), the Saeima commission and other institutions. It stresses that Nātra wants to work but bureaucratic norms stand in the way, asking for an exception to merge his practice with that of his wife Inga Nātra.
Māris Nātra said that six or seven people applied, but most were willing to work only part-time, which is not possible in a family doctor practice. He proposed working part-time in his wife's practice, but the NHS Legal Department replied that the law does not provide for such an option. The doctor expressed disappointment, noting that patients, especially elderly and lonely people, ask him tearfully what they will do.
The NHS public relations department explained that the doctor was offered to sign a contract with one of three nurses approached by the municipality – one agreed to full-time work – but he refused. It also noted that regulations do not allow merging practices, but cooperation such as mutual substitution is possible. The NHS has contacted all practices in the city; patients will be able to register with Inga Nātra or Ilona Uzbekas.
Inga Nātra said her practice already has 2,600 patients, so she cannot accept everyone. Priority will be given to relatives of current patients – parents, grandparents, siblings. She added that Māris Nātra could help as a doctor if the NHS permits; a response is promised by August 11. The NHS, in turn, stated that six family doctors currently provide state-funded services in Valka and that it regularly surveys doctors about their plans.
