The Covid-19 crisis required a lot from the health sector, said Pavļuts. “I think we have to deal with a certain rebound. Speaking to health ministers in other countries, they face similar challenges. They are talking about burning out, the lack of labor in the sector is everywhere, also in richer countries and in those who fund health more generously than Latvia,” Pavļuts said.
Consequently, the issue of medical remuneration, further education and motivation, including the provision of working conditions, is a matter of concern. He also pointed to a strategy for human resources and hospital cooperation.
“All of these things have been worked together, either approved by the government or close to it. Accordingly, I will leave on the table a whole series of prepared reforms, a planning document that can be implemented or put into a drawer, as is often the case with a change of ministers," the minister said.
He also pointed to the ongoing development of a new digital health platform until which the notoriously dysfunctional “e-Health” will continue to operate. Work is also ongoing on a register of oncology patients.
“It is necessary to build a digital health competence center within the industry – to focus the forces of the industry, to put information technology workers in one institution so that they [solutions] can be much better implemented forward,” Pavļuts said.
