The initiative of the Ministry of Health (SAM) in 2025 Vilnius University hospitals Santara clinics the Center for Diagnostics and Treatment of Infectious Diseases will open its doors.
According to Alvyda Naujokaitė, advisor of the Specialized Health Care Department of SAM, the aim of modernizing infectious disease treatment facilities is to strengthen the management and control of infectious diseases.
"The fight against the COVID-19 infection led to the search for solutions that would allow for a more efficient and prompt response during pandemics and epidemics. The implemented changes will ensure even higher quality and safer healthcare services for patients," she said.
Changes are foreseen in other infectious disease cluster centers as well: a new infectious disease corps will be built in Kaunas clinics, modernization will also be carried out in regional centers providing secondary level services - Panevėžys Republican Hospital, Šiauliai Republican Hospital and Klaipėda University Hospital.
VU hospital Santaras clinic director for medicine dr. Valdas Pečeliūnas says that the new, 5-floor infectious disease center will have a reception-emergency department; Reanimation and intensive care unit; an internal medicine unit and a specialized laboratory ensuring isolation of patients.
The highest quality diagnostic and treatment services provided in this center will allow complex treatment for patients with serious illnesses who have been diagnosed with an infectious disease, the report states.
"If necessary, we will be able to promptly increase the number of intensive care beds, accept more patients with infectious diseases, and at the same time maintain the smooth operation of other departments," he noted.
According to V. Pečeliūnas, it was decided to design the center for infectious diseases in such a way that it would be connected with the currently operating Reception-emergency department.
"This will ensure the smooth movement of patients between the buildings and departments of the institution, and we will also have the opportunity to effectively isolate patients suffering from contagious infectious diseases. A large number of patients go to the Emergency Department already suffering from an infectious disease, but without knowing it," he said.
It should be noted that the high biosafety level laboratory installed in the Center for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases will make it safer to work with dangerous pathogens, perform rapid testing, and work with samples from patients suffering from dangerous infectious diseases.
"We will ensure greater research and testing capabilities. The new laboratory will be adapted to work with large quantities of highly hazardous samples. This means that it will be possible to get answers quickly," said Dr. V. Pečeliūnas.
