The Ministry of Health of Latvia plans to require hospitals to ensure continuous operation for at least 72 hours in the event of power outages. This was reported by Boris Knigin, the Deputy State Secretary of the Ministry for Financial Affairs, during a meeting of the Saeima's Social and Labor Affairs Committee. The need to revise the requirements was highlighted by the severe summer storm that hit the country on August 22, which was the strongest in decades. During the bad weather, 33 healthcare institutions reported problems with electricity supply, communication, and other disruptions. The longest outages were recorded at the Preili Hospital, where generators provided power for 47 hours, and at the Akniste Hospital — 44 hours and 20 minutes. In Preili, Akniste, Ludza, and Kraslava, generators operated for at least 28 hours. In all cases, fuel supplies were sufficient. Hospitals spent about 6,200 euros on fuel for the generators, and the ministry intends to request funds to compensate for these expenses. The damage to the infrastructure of medical institutions is estimated at around 60,000 euros. The Ministry of Health proposes to increase the standard for autonomous operation of hospitals from the current 48 to 72 hours, requiring institutions to have sufficient fuel reserves and generators of appropriate capacity. Another serious issue during the storm was communication. Although hospitals were equipped with radios, their capabilities were insufficient for prolonged operation. The ministry is considering the implementation of satellite technologies. The chairman of the parliamentary committee, Andris Berzinsh, suggested using satellite phones; however, according to Knigin, this is too expensive. He called the Starlink satellite internet system a more realistic option, which, with the presence of generators, would allow for stable communication even during mobile network outages. In addition, the Ministry of Health intends to modernize the SAIRIS information system to receive real-time data on the situation in hospitals. This will require about 2.5 million euros. The consequences of the storm also affected family doctors. Due to power outages, vaccines worth approximately 124,000 euros were spoiled, mainly children's medications, as well as vaccines against tick-borne encephalitis and diphtheria. To protect refrigeration equipment, the ministry proposes equipping family doctors' practices with uninterruptible power supplies. The purchase of UPS and batteries will require 3.291 million euros. According to the Ministry of Health, the total funding needed to enhance the resilience of the healthcare system to such crises is 61.49 million euros, of which 6.01 million euros is required to address the consequences of the August storm and implement priority measures.
