Bart Berden was the face of the Elisabeth-TweeSteden Hospital (ETZ) in Tilburg for 21 years, but now the influential director says goodbye. He saw up close how the nature of patients changed: from grateful to increasingly demanding. “And if they don’t get what they want, some even react aggressively.”
For more than two decades, Berden led the approximately 6300 employees in the Tilburg hospital. Unique, since not many hospital directors stay on their post for so long. “It has never been boring,” he laughs. The Venlonaar was confronted with a new challenge every few years. “That kept the work interesting.”
He divides his career into three phases, each with its own challenge. “The first seven years were dominated by the dichotomy between the Elisabeth and the TweeSteden Hospital. Both institutions then still existed side by side. It was my task to investigate whether they could join forces.”
After long consideration, the decision fell: the two Tilburg care institutions would merge. “But that was easier said than done. It took us another seven years to fully realize that fusion.”
Coronavirus
The last seven years Berden was mainly dominated by the Coronavirus. “That phase has stayed with me the most,” he says. From close by he saw how care workers fought through the uncertainty. “Nobody knew what the long -term consequences would be. That scared a number of nurses.”
It was a crisis of unprecedented size. “I had never experienced anything like that, it cannot be compared with previous crisis situations in the hospital.” He has a double feeling about the pandemic. “That period had beautiful moments, but also dark, painful sides. The personal suffering was terrible: people died, while we hardly understood what exactly was going on.”
In addition to a group of hesitant employees, there was a large group of caregivers who tirelessly committed to corona patients. “The feeling of togetherness brought light in that difficult time. They wanted nothing more than to make people better, despite the uncertainty that hung around the virus in the beginning. Although it was exciting and the service had been on it for a long time, they kept fighting for human lives. That made it clear to me that there is no sector with such a large creative and reactive capacity as the care.”
Demanding patients
Berden saw over the years how patients’ attitude changed considerably. “People started to find care very normal 24/7,” says the former director. “But actually that is not normal.” According to him, patients have become increasingly demanding. “They don’t accept it anymore when they have to wait. And they don’t get what they want, some even react aggressively.”
According to Berden, the demanding behavior of patients and their families leads to less job satisfaction. “It is not always easy to deal with this. The expectations of patients continue to grow, and that causes tension in the workplace. Many ETZ employees are already saying:” I don’t participate anymore “. They no longer pick it up, and I fully understand that. It is one of the reasons why the enormous staff shortage in healthcare continues to increase.”
Family business
Berden will miss the staff in Tilburg enormously. “After all these years it felt like a family business here. More than six thousand people work in ETZ, and I think I know most by name. But saying goodbye is part of it.” Yet he is not afraid of a void after his departure. “I can’t sit still. I have a young dog that I am going to raise, a job at the food bank that I want to pick up and enough books to read. No, I’m not sitting behind the geraniums.”