About the Expat Directory
This report provides a summary and an analysis of a survey on the provision of medical care in the Netherlands. It was carried out by the International Organisations’ Staff Associations of the Netherlands (IOSA-NL), and is a follow-on to IOSA-NL's first report, "At Home in Holland? How International Civil Servants View Life in the Netherlands", in which the staff of international organisations (IOs) stated that the poor quality of healthcare was one of the three top reasons why they would choose to relocate to another country.
The questionnaire, which was completed by staff me mbers of eight of the largest IOs, provides a snapshot of the level of satisfaction amongst some 2500 respondents, and its results should be viewed in the context of the efforts that Dutch authorities are actively making both to recruit and retain international organisations to the Netherlands (and particularly to the environs of The Hague).
A number of questions about medical services (the services of general practitioners, emergency care, dental services, waiting times, specialist services, comparisons with medical care abroad, and so on) were posed. The findings, which reflect both answers and comments from Dutch and non-Dutch staff members, were significant, and can be summarised as follows:
- The statistical results show that a majority of respondents, although generally satisfied with the provision of services by medical professionals, expressed dissatisfaction with the state of the healthcare system in the Netherlands, and commented favourably on how much better such provision was both abroad (for example, in Belgium), and in their home countries. Points of contention were: the “gatekeeper” (viewed as obstructive) role of the huisarts, long waiting times for appointments (especially with specialists), denial of the full spectrum of diagnostic tests which are standard procedure elsewhere and other forms of “rationing” of healthcare, and dissatisfaction with emergency and hospital care.
- In short, the primary focus of the negative assessment of the provision of care was the system itself, its bureaucracy, its systemic flaws (reinforced by recent reforms), and the many obstacles/mechanisms that hinder responsiveness to patients’ needs.
The results of the IOSA-NL survey are confirmed not only by the number of individuals who travel abroad to receive medical care with which they have expressed satisfaction, but also by a variety of recent Dutch publications, which indicate that the local population has raised and is raising some of the same concerns voiced by IO staff members.
IOSA-NL concludes with the recommendation that it is imperative that the relevant Dutch authorities address the concerns that are reflected in this report if they wish to continue pursuing their stated objective of attracting and retaining international organisations to this country. If these issues are not addressed, the perception of the Netherlands as an attractive venue for IOs will continue to shift, and staff will continue to “vote with their feet” in terms of healthcare.
Source: IOSA-NL
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