Biruta Karlovska, a GP in Eleja parish, is 73 years old, 50 of which have been devoted to her work. Although she could take a well-deserved rest, her work has grown on her.
"These are patients in many generations. Of course, there is also a lot of updating of knowledge, not only for young doctors, but also at this age, and keeping up with new technologies. It's not all that easy either, but I think I'm up to the job for now," said Karlovska.
She plans to retire next year, hoping that a new doctor will take her place. However, she is worried about this, because new specialists do not want to come to the countryside.
"There are no surgeries, laboratories, procedures near here. We do it ourselves. We take the tests. Setting up a new practice in the countryside is not easy either. It requires a lot of funding and organizational capacity," said the doctor.
37% of all Latvian GPs have reached retirement age. In the more remote regions of Latvia, as many as 60 to 70% of GPs are retired. The National Health Service is aware of the situation, so a waiting list for new GPs is being established, with doctors who have expressed their willingness to work in the regions.
"Every year at the beginning of September, the NVD surveys retired GPs about their intentions to continue their contract with the NVD over the next five years. This year, GPs from the age of 61 have been surveyed. Taking into account the answers given by GPs, a replacement plan for GPs for the next five years is being drawn up," explained Sintija Kājiņa, spokesperson for the NVD.
The plan has been presented to local authorities, who are expected to support potential GPs. However, new doctors are in no hurry to set up their practices in the regions - it is far and expensive.
The amounts quoted range from €15 to €40 thousand to set up a practice according to all the required criteria.
"Doctors, especially those working in the regions, are very worried about this. We understand that these new colleagues will preferably choose to work in Riga or the Pierīga region, and it is much less likely that one of them will end up in the countryside," said Ainis Dzalbs, vice-president of the Latvian Association of Rural Family Doctors.
If one in three GPs is over 64, this could theoretically mean that they could retire at any time.
"Access to primary healthcare, especially in the regions, is one of the national security criteria. If we lack healthcare there, we are exposed to very, very, very high risks," Dzalbs reasoned.
Currently, there are eight vacancies for general practitioners in Latvia, but if no doctors come forward, there could be as many as 133 shortages by 2028, the NVD estimated, saying it was unlikely to reach that situation. Meanwhile, the Latvian Association of Rural General Practitioners said that additional support and bonuses for young general practitioners working in the regions should be urgently considered.
