An experienced team of medical professionals from the multi-profile surgical clinic “AIWA Clinic”, part of “Veselības centru apvienība” (VCA), will implement the European Union (EU) funded pilot project “Value-based (VBHC) bariatric service model”, promoted by the National Health Service until October 2025.

Nearly 250 patients will have the opportunity to reduce their excess weight and its negative impact on physiological processes. In a unique pilot project within the Latvian healthcare sector, patients with medically confirmed severe obesity from across Latvia will have access to EU-funded healthcare services to treat this condition.

In the pilot project, a multidisciplinary team of specialists will provide a service based on the principles of value-based healthcare (VBHC) to severely overweight patients whose well-being and health are affected by obesity, which is also accompanied by several serious illnesses. Up to 250 patients will receive comprehensive treatment, including bariatric surgery, nutrition and lifestyle modification. As part of the multidisciplinary service based on VBHC principles, specialists at the “AIWA Clinic” will develop a treatment roadmap for patients with severe obesity, define selection criteria, provide treatment and postoperative follow-up to the patients, and collect and analyze the results afterward.

“Value-based healthcare is the future of the sector, so we hope that the pilot project to provide bariatric services will also show the next steps in implementing such a model. The pilot project aims to make a significant difference to the lives of people who are severely overweight, enabling them to improve their health, reduce the complications of obesity-related diseases and deliver positive benefits to both healthcare and society,” says Zaiga Bardiva, National Health Service project manager.

Obesity and overweight directly increase the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and other chronic conditions, along with their complications. Surgeon Igors Troickis, Chief Physician of the “AIWA Clinic”, admits that the project is a unique opportunity in Latvia, especially awaited by those who need bariatric surgery for weight loss but have not been able to afford it until now: “Obesity is a disease that needs to be treated. If left untreated, it can lead to type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and problems with the hip and knee joints. At the “AIWA Clinic”, we perform around 700 bariatric surgeries a year, and we often have patients who have already been scheduled for endoprosthesis surgery but have been denied it because they are overweight, as it is recognized that the endoprosthesis may not be able to withstand the load and the desired result of the surgery may not be achieved.”

In the doctor`s experience, 95% of patients feel satisfied with bariatric surgery already within the first year, as their health and quality of life have improved. “There has been a general improvement in recent years in both public awareness and doctors’ knowledge of what obesity is and how it can be treated. We are seeing more and more patients that we can help. I am confident that by the end of the pilot project, together we will have begun to address at least some of the health problems associated with obesity in Latvia,” says Troickis.

The pilot project aims to achieve a sustained reduction in excess weight of at least 25% six months after surgery and 50% after 12 months. Patients are expected to experience significant reductions in blood sugar, blood pressure, and cholesterol levels, which could lead to a decreased need for medications. The availability of such treatment in Latvia is expected to gradually reduce the number of strokes, heart attacks, related disabilities and premature deaths, and limit the financial burden on patients and the healthcare system.

“Veselības centru apvienība” is one of the largest private healthcare service providers in Latvia with branches in Riga, Jurmala, Liepaja, Daugavpils, Bauska, Talsi and Kekava. More than 1500 VCA employees provide services in 120 specialties and service areas.

* The pilot project is being implemented within the framework of the European Union Recovery and Resilience Plan, Component 4 “Health”, 4.3 reform direction “Sustainability of healthcare, strengthening governance, efficient use of health resources” 4.3.1.r. reform “Sustainability of healthcare, strengthening governance, efficient use of health resources, increase of total public budget in the health sector” project “Health Service Model Development Laboratory”.

About Recovery and Resilience Facility

The Recovery and Resilience Facility is a new centrally managed budget programme of the European Commission created in addition to the multiannual budget of the European Union for the programming period 2021–2027. Its aim is to support reforms and investments associated with the transition to a green digital economy and to mitigate the social and economic impact of the crisis.
The Recovery and Resilience Facility will invest €1.97 billion in Latvia’s economy by the end of 2026, through reforms and investments in all six areas of the Recovery and Resilience Facility: climate and energy efficiency (including REPowerEU), digital transformation, reducing inequalities, economic transformation, health and rule of law.