Lithuania begins strategic transformation of hospitals with fortified medical complexes

Lithuania is moving ahead with plans to build fortified hospital complexes in Vilnius and Kaunas, designed to provide medical care during ordinary conditions and emergencies.

Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius described the decision as the start of a historic transformation of the country’s medical institutions. He said hospitals must be able to deliver care safely during a crisis and called that capacity an essential part of the national defense concept.

At Kaunas Clinics, the plan calls for a fortified surgical center and a multi-storey dual-use parking facility. At Santaros Clinics in Vilnius, officials envisage a multifunctional complex with a convertible underground car park that could become a secure hospital space during a crisis.

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Today we are giving the green light to a historic transformation of Lithuania’s medical institutions, because safely providing treatment during a crisis is an essential element of the national defense concept.

The grounds of the Republican Vilnius University Hospital would receive a fortified critical-situations medical center with operating rooms and space for several hundred beds. The site would also include infrastructure for managing patient flows and mobilization.

The projects are being prepared in consultation with health and security experts from Israel. The planned investment totals about 300 million euros. “The infrastructure of the strategic support hospitals will have a dual purpose: services will also be provided during peacetime,” Sinkevičius said.

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The infrastructure of the strategic support hospitals will have a dual purpose: services will also be provided during peacetime.