Nikita Bezborodovs, head of the mental health center, said that the idea of the center dates back to 2016. Historically, children's mental health services were provided in the Gaiļezers branch of the hospital but the facilities were inadequate from the outset.
The service moved to children's hospital's main premises in December.
Bezborodovs said that demand for this service is high, overall the number of patients in-patient has fallen, but the flow of the service outpatients has grown, queues are also high, demand is growing and continues to grow.
The average duration of treatment in the hospital is 14 days, with eating disorders requiring longer periods of inpatient time. If there is no emergency referral, the wait time to visit a doctor is five months. There is a large shortage of psychiatric specialists working with children in the country but it is hoped that several new specialists will soon be able to work.
