As Nicmane-Aišpure explains, at the beginning of the year NVD offered to conclude the same general contract with all health institutions in Latvia for ten years, against which family doctors objected. Family doctors objected to the unilateral right of NVA to make amendments to the contract without coordinating them with family doctors. Also, they are not satisfied with the punishments, which are not proportionate.
A long process of harmonizing the terms of the contract followed, but “very important requirements” remained, which family doctors could not compromise on, said the head of the Latvian Association of Family Doctors.
She informed that 540 family doctors of Latvia have written authorizations to the Association of Family Doctors of Latvia to defend their rights in the administrative court through lawyers.
Nicmane-Aišpure claimed that before applying to the administrative court, the doctors asked to hold consultations with the Minister of Health Hossam Abu Meri (JV) and the NVD, but neither the minister nor the NVD responded, therefore it was decided to resolve the conflict through the court.
On Friday, the administrative court accepted the doctors’ request for temporary protection and ordered NVD to provide explanations in the dispute by January 6 of the following year. It is planned that on January 10, the administrative court will consider the doctors’ request in a written procedure, estimated Nicmane-Aišpure. Family doctors are represented in the administrative court by the law firm “Cobalt”.
NVD sent the contracts to family doctors for signature on December 14, they must be signed within a month, but the time of entry into force is planned from January 1 of the next year.
Similarly, a year ago, the Association of Family Doctors of Latvia had disagreements with the Ministry of Health and NVD regarding the terms of the proposed contracts, but in the end they were signed.
At that time, the association was basically not satisfied with the solution of financial obligations in the proposed contracts, so there was even a threat to work only four days a week for the state’s payment, but on the fifth day providing paid consultations.