Plan developed by the Ministry of Health to improve oncology care announced at the Meeting of State Secretaries

When a person is diagnosed with cancer, they must be provided with complete information, receive the necessary diagnostic examinations and the most appropriate treatment in a timely manner, as well as receive psycho-emotional support and rehabilitation and, where necessary, palliative care. It is essential that the person is at the centre of the system. This approach is provided for in the Plan for Improving Healthcare Services in Oncology for 2022–2024, developed by the Ministry of Health together with the sector, which was announced at the Meeting of State Secretaries today, 22 July.

The plan was submitted for public consultation in June, and the Ministry of Health also received proposals for improving the plan from several patient organisations, professional organisations and healthcare institutions. The proposals submitted during the public consultation, as well as the plan itself, can be viewed on the Ministry of Health website.

In the near future, the Plan for Improving Healthcare Services in Oncology for 2022–2024 will be submitted to the Cabinet of Ministers for review and approval.

The main objective set out in the plan is to develop people-centred, integrated healthcare services that prevent premature mortality from cancer. In Latvia, malignant neoplasms are the second most common cause of death among the population, accounting for approximately one-fifth of all causes of death. Every year, approximately 11,000 residents of Latvia are diagnosed with a malignant neoplasm, and approximately 6,000 die from malignant neoplasms.

As previously reported, in the coming years it is necessary to ensure that a person diagnosed with cancer can be confident that they will receive high-quality services appropriate to their needs. The measures can be grouped into several areas.

Prevention. Complete information must be provided on how to prevent various risk factors in order to reduce the likelihood of cancer (an unhealthy lifestyle, including the use of addictive substances, an unbalanced diet and insufficient physical activity). Preventive examinations are also essential—cancer screening, as well as vaccination against human papillomavirus for girls and boys. It is important that a person’s family doctor also informs them about preventive measures, while the service itself must be of high and comparable quality, regardless of where it is received.

Timely diagnosis. One of the objectives is to improve diagnostic capabilities so that people can receive the necessary examinations in a timely manner at the healthcare institution of their choice—this means that the quality of the service must not depend on location.

Appropriate treatment. To ensure personalised and targeted treatment, access to new medicines for oncology patients must be improved. Unfortunately, due to insufficient funding, there are still tumours in several locations for which innovative therapy is not available through the reimbursable medicines system. It is also important to involve a multidisciplinary team in the treatment process so that the patient receives all the necessary assistance. In addition, uniform guidelines and algorithms need to be introduced so that people receive examinations, treatment, monitoring and care in accordance with the uniform quality standards defined in Europe.

Support and rehabilitation. To help patients with cancer get through the treatment process as well as possible and return to social and economic life with the highest possible quality of life, it is necessary to provide not only treatment but also psychosocial rehabilitation. To ensure this, the Ministry of Health, together with the Ministry of Welfare (MoW) and other partners, will continue the activities already initiated to improve the content of healthcare services for people with cancer, in order to develop and provide cross-sectoral support and services, including in the area of psychological support.

Palliative care. Palliative care, like rehabilitation, is also part of the overall treatment and care process. The aim of the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Welfare is to establish comprehensive, people-centred palliative care that provides timely, high-quality and affordable services, regardless of people’s socioeconomic status, including psycho-emotional support at the end of life for both the person and their family. Although palliative care services are generally provided, the area of palliative care needs to be developed and improved through a multidisciplinary approach, increasing service accessibility and continuity of care, and cooperation between healthcare professionals and social-sector specialists must also be improved.

Available specialists. A very important aspect is promoting the availability of specialists throughout Latvia by mapping human resources in the field of oncology. As a result, the specialist needed by a person will be available in a convenient location. By improving healthcare professionals’ remuneration and other conditions, including opportunities to expand their knowledge, medical workers will be satisfied with their working environment, which will promote better communication and treatment. It should be emphasised that patient satisfaction is no less important; therefore, listening to patients’ opinions and experiences must be encouraged in order to improve services.

In addition to the measures mentioned above, it is planned to continue previously initiated or planned initiatives in the field of oncology for which additional funding had not previously been allocated. For example, it is planned to improve cancer screening programmes, develop the pathology centre, improve reconstructive surgery services for patients with cancer and access to a range of technical aids, as well as develop other services.

To implement the measures mentioned above, an indicative additional €101.49 million would be required in 2022, €130.69 million in 2023 and €150.27 million in 2024. For the coming year, the largest share—€64.03 million—is earmarked for medicines; €20.08 million to expand diagnostic capabilities; €5.86 million for recalculating tariffs; and €2.55 million for rehabilitation and palliative care.

Author:

Ministry of Health

vm.gov.lv