“This hospital is an example”, says Minister of Health Ernst Kuipers about the brand new hospital in Meppel. This afternoon he performed the official opening. With a big smile and full of praise, Kuipers cut the ribbon in his hometown.
At the beginning of 2020, the first pile of the new building was driven. That now seems very far back, partly because a week later the corona virus took hold of the Netherlands and turned the (healthcare) world upside down. Nevertheless, the construction companies continued to build and Isala received the key in December last year.
That was earlier than expected. After a period of moving, settling in and cleaning, the patients were transferred last March. Since then, the new hospital has been fully operational, but this afternoon was the time for the official and festive opening. “That includes a special guest,” said director Mariska de Groot proudly when the minister took the stage for the official ceremony.
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The fact that Meppel has managed to develop a new hospital can count on Kuipers’ praise. The minister even hopes that other hospitals will follow an example of the way of working. “We are leading the way in sustainability here. It is the first hospital without a gas connection and that runs on sustainable energy. Really fantastic, because healthcare must make a significant contribution to the energy transition.”
“Healthcare is also a major consumer of materials,” continues the minister. “That’s why I think it’s great that Isala in Meppel is so involved with circularity. Climate change has a major impact on our health and we have to tackle it together. This is a statement from you. This hospital has set a new standard for the whole of the Netherlands. That’s why compliments and congratulations for this work.”
Full hospital?
During the new construction of a hospital in Meppel, there was much discussion about how complete the new building should be. In the old situation, patients with almost all complaints could go, but did it have to stay that way? “We were scared,” says the chairman of the client council. “Because what are we left with?”
According to Kuipers, it is a logical decision to make choices in Meppel. “You do not have to do everything here. Just like the large hospitals do not have to do everything. There is an extremely good collaboration with the hospital in Zwolle. There is now a fully-fledged hospital here, but people have to go to Zwolle for special specialisations, because we can then become very good at it. Then Meppel can concentrate on other things.” He cites gallbladder surgery as an example. “Meppel really does that the most, so if something ever needs to be done to my gallbladder, I prefer to go to Meppel.”
Challenges
Although the plans for the hospital in Meppel were already devised before his arrival, Kuipers is very happy with them. “This fits in with my vision on healthcare.” He does, however, see plenty of challenges for the coming years, especially in the regional areas. “Currently, one in six people has a job in healthcare. That will increase to one in four. It will be a huge job to find those people, because other companies also need those people. That’s why we will have to do a lot. innovate to be more efficient.”
The opening of the hospital in Meppel was the first ribbon that Kuipers cut in his job as a minister. But there was one more important reason to be there in Meppel: 62 years ago he was born in the city of Drenthe, where his father was a general practitioner. “I certainly have a relationship with this beautiful region. Unfortunately, I have many appointments today, but I will definitely come back to see Meppel again,” the minister concluded.
The scissors to cut the ribbon came to the new building location in a special way: it was flown in by drone. A big nod to Isala’s serious plans to transport medicines and blood samples by air.