This year, 12% more patients than last year received emergency care at Eastern Hospital

Since the beginning of 2024, the number of patients in the Emergency Medicine and Patient Reception Clinic (NMPUK) of Riga Eastern Clinical University Hospital (RAKUS) continues to increase, and the hospital is overloaded, RAKUS representatives said.

In the first quarter of this year, compared to the corresponding period a year ago, the number of patients who received emergency medical assistance at NMPUK increased by 12%. The number of patients who continued to be treated in RAKUS inpatients increased by almost a fifth, or 17%, and the number of patients who received emergency help due to various serious injuries and accidents also increased by 17%. “The hospital is overloaded and patients with non-life-threatening or minor injuries and illnesses may have to wait longer,” RAKUS representatives emphasize.

In the first three months of this year, NMPUK hospitals provided emergency medical assistance to 19,612 patients, or 2,296 more patients than in the first quarter of 2023. More than half, i.e. 55% or 10,881 patients had come to the NMPUK on their own, while 45% or 8,731 patients were taken to the NMPUK by Emergency Medical Service (EMS) transport. Thus, in the first three months of 2024, an average of 216 people received emergency care at the hospital every day, of which an average of 96 patients per day were transported by ambulance, while the other 120 arrived on their own.

The number of patients brought to NMPUK by NMPD increased by 5% in the first quarter of this year, while the number of people who sought medical help increased by 17%. Almost 60% of these patients went to be treated at home after a doctor’s examination, while 40% required inpatient treatment.

Out of the total number of emergency patients, in the first quarter of 2024, 3,735 patients were admitted to RAKUS due to injuries and accidents, which is 626 patients more than a year ago. On the other hand, 594 people were in critical condition and had to undergo life-saving procedures and resuscitation measures. The number of critical patients was three patients more than a year ago.

RAKUS representatives point out that more and more often NMPUK is approached not only by residents of Riga or living in the vicinity of the capital, but also by residents of remote regions of Latvia. In addition, patients often go to the hospital not because of an aggravation of the disease or acute health problems, but for other reasons, for example, to open a sick sheet or a person has been bitten by fleas, thus further lengthening the queues and burdening the doctors, hospital representatives explain.

The head of NMPUK, Aleksej Vishnakov, states that RAKUS is also a strategic partner of NATO, so doctors must be ready to respond and provide emergency aid in disaster and crisis situations, when there is a large influx of patients at the same time. On the other hand, according to the guidelines, the bed occupancy of the medical institution cannot exceed 80%. Vishnakovs believes that reducing the workload of university hospitals would require solutions by strengthening the capacity of emergency departments of second and third level hospitals.

RAKUS emergency assistance is currently provided 24 hours a day by 16 specialty doctors, but if necessary, the necessary specialists are also called outside of working hours. Doctors’ assistants, nursing staff, client and patient registrars, security and room cleaning service work in a team with doctors. On average, one doctor’s position may have to provide assistance and refer up to 40 patients for various examinations and analyses, while a nurse can take care of up to 15 patients at the same time.