RSU to open new study centre at the Children’s Clinical University Hospital

By investing 3.24 million euros of its own funds Rīga Stradiņš University (RSU) plans to start construction on a multifunctional study centre at the Children’s Clinical University Hospital in 2019. The investment will be a new step in the development of RSU that will benefit not only prospective and existing doctors but also patients. This is the first time such a centre will be constructed at a Latvian hospital in the history of RSU.

According to RSU Rector, Professor Aigars Pētersons, the planned building will contain several auditoriums and spaces for simulation technologies that will be used both for student training as well as for maintenance and storage. The facility will have four storeys with three above ground level and one underground floor (total area 1208 m2). Construction is scheduled to start in 2019 and finish within 32 months in 2022.

‘A modern, simulation-based study process to train future medical professionals is no longer an exception, but a self-evident necessity. It provides a safe environment for both the student and the patient. RSU is a flagship of medical education in Latvia and a Baltic-wide leader in attracting international students, so we have determined that this is a priority for us,’ Professor Aigars Pētersons emphasised.

‘The priorities of the Children’s Clinical University Hospital are to strengthen patient safety, to promote outstanding clinical outcomes and to create a positive patient experience. The new multifunctional study centre will benefit not only students but also the hospital’s staff. The opportunity to practice new medical technologies and techniques with simulations will improve the skills of the staff, allowing the hospital’s aims to be achieved,' commented Valts Ābols, Chairperson of the hospital’s board.

In recent years RSU has invested in the development of several study centres in Latvian medical institutions. RSU invested 943 thousand euros in a study centre which opened at the Riga East Clinical University Hospital in 2017. The centre modernised and modified the 1000m2 large premises. RSU has also focused on cooperating with several regional hospitals to facilitate better training and to attract prospective doctors and nurses to work outside Riga, for example at Daugavpils Regional hospital, North Kurzeme Regional Hospital, as well as Liepāja Regional Hospital and Vidzeme Hospital. However, the study centre at the Children’s Clinical University Hospital will be the first of its kind in the history of RSU.