Vidzeme Hospital explains what care will remain local after hospital reform, and when patients still go to Riga

Starting in 2027, Latvia plans to introduce a three-tier hospital model, dividing facilities into local, regional and multi-profile hospitals. Under this system, Vidzeme Hospital is designated as one of the multi-profile hospitals, offering the widest range of services outside Riga.

Currently, Vidzeme Hospital operates as a level IV regional hospital, with its emergency and admissions department running around the clock. Available services include surgery, traumatology and orthopedics, neurology with a stroke unit, internal medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, neonatology, pediatrics, intensive care, rehabilitation, and a broad range of diagnostics.

Readiness for emergencies

In the event of a serious accident, an on-duty surgeon, trauma-orthopedist and anesthesiologist-intensivist are available 24/7. For mass-casualty situations, the hospital has an emergency medical plan that includes mobilizing additional staff, freeing up extra beds and repurposing operating rooms. The hospital states it can simultaneously admit, triage and stabilize dozens of severely injured patients, drawing on national emergency medical service resources if needed.

When patients are sent to Riga

For more complex cases — such as extensive cardiac or neurosurgical operations, severe polytrauma with multiple organ damage, rare and complex oncological conditions, or cases requiring specialized care for infants and children — patients are transferred to university hospitals in Riga, since tertiary-level care is required.

Staff shortages persist

As in the healthcare sector nationwide, Vidzeme Hospital acknowledges a shortage of medical staff, most acutely among internists and emergency medicine doctors. The hospital says it is actively recruiting new specialists and medical residents.

Vidzeme Hospital supports the planned reform but stresses it must come with adequate funding. It maintains that basic services and emergency care will remain in place, though patients with more complex conditions will still need to travel to higher-level facilities.