He emphasized that the regions should receive services such as chemotherapy or radiotherapy.
The doctor compared the health sector to a sink – several regional hospitals are maintained, where one operation takes place a week or a month, which is not useful.
However, Sīviņš emphasized that the Oncology Center is still waiting for repairs. He reminded that at least for a period of two years it is planned to move to temporary premises in the stationary “Gailezers”, which are still being prepared. He predicted that it would be a very difficult time because there would be fewer operating tables. “We will have to squeeze, but we have done it, for example, during Covid-19, when other inpatients were closed and oncology operations were actually held only at us,” he said, admitting that this could affect the flow of patients.
According to him, currently there are practically no queues for oncology operations, as the staff tries to work so that patients do not have to wait.
Speaking about abdominal and esophageal oncosurgery, the doctor said that, in principle, there are no such operations that cannot be performed in Latvia and for which one would have to go abroad.
He noted that very often he sees appeals to donate money to patients who, according to international guidelines, cannot undergo radical treatment in any country. “But unfortunately, there are foreign colleagues for whom the patient is also a source of profit,” said Sīviņš. In his practice, he has experienced cases where the patient’s survival after such an operation decreased and the patient returned in a very bad condition.