Valka Municipality Tries to Attract a New Family Doctor
Valka municipality in northern Latvia is seeking at least one new family doctor, as five currently work there and some are at or near retirement age. It offers a 750-euro monthly scholarship and housing.
The Valka municipality in northern Latvia is still looking for ways to attract at least one new family doctor. Five family doctors currently work in Valka, and some of them are already of retirement age or approaching it. A new specialist would ease the workload of the others and help keep primary health care available to residents.
Appeal to residents in training
Baiba Vorobjeva, the municipality's public health organiser, says the head of the local council recently presented Valka's offer remotely to residents (doctors in specialist training) at Riga Stradins University. They now have time to consider it, and it is not yet known whether anyone will come to see Valka in person. Doctors Ilona Uzbeka and Inga Natra are ready to take trainees under their wing and share their experience. When the municipality approached residents at the University of Latvia, nobody responded.
There is also hope of securing a family doctor for residents of Karki parish. A meeting with a doctor who has expressed willingness to work with people from Karki is scheduled for early next week. Whether it will come to fruition should become clear soon.
Scholarship and housing
Council members have decided to grant a municipal scholarship of 750 euros a month to those studying to become family doctors. The municipality is also ready to provide the new specialist with a place to live. It plans to organise a free tour showing what living and working in Valka and the surrounding area is like.
Vents Armands Krauklis, chairman of the municipal council, calls the process a kind of lottery. In his view, the state should offer a higher scholarship to young doctors willing to work in the regions and require them to serve at least five years there. He says the state keeps avoiding this, so municipalities must act themselves, and names young people's wish to live in Riga as the main problem. Krauklis promises that if a specific person with specific needs appears, the municipality will try to meet them despite the lack of funds.
