Maastricht doctor Iwan van der Horst will take over from Diederik Gommers this week as chairman of the Dutch Association for Intensive Care (NVIC).
A change of management that would normally not catch the eye, but due to the corona pandemic, intensive care has been the focus of attention for two years now.
Diederik Gommers
Diederik Gommers is part of the Outbreak Management Team (OMT) that regularly advises the cabinet on the corona rules to be taken. In that position, Gommers grew into a well-known Dutchman. It is now clear that Van der Horst will not be in the same spotlight. Gommers will remain in the OMT.
Van der Horst, department head of intensive care at MUMC+ and Laurentius Hospital, explains: “It seems that the OMT in its current composition will no longer exist. If other or new committees start up about the corona pandemic, it is up to me or other board members to take up that role.”
Also read: Maastricht doctor not OMT member after all: Gommers stays
Van der Horst is ‘somewhat’ prepared for the attention. “If there had been no corona, it would have passed everyone by. Now it is in the news all the time and that provides new opportunities, because people know better what intensive care is. We can now tell our story. Say who we are and what we do.” If we find something important, we’ll probably get it on the agenda sooner.”
Working in a different way
Since the start of the corona pandemic, calls have been made for more capacity in the IC departments in the Netherlands. “In the end, it’s not about beds, it’s about people. We have to take better care of the staff, so that our people enjoy coming to work and want to continue working.”
A different way of working is also something for the future. “The intensivist and the nurse now do all the work together. There are other professionals who can help us with that.” Van der Horst is thinking of care assistants who were integrated into the IC team during the pandemic. “Or a secretary and a physiotherapist who is on the work floor for longer. It involves slightly more people, but who are also deployed in a different way. This way we can still provide sufficient care with fewer intensivists and nurses.”
More healthcare staff
The Maastricht doctor thinks it is wise to increase the capacity of beds, even if that comes at a price. “We all have to determine how much capacity and people we deem necessary. Or do we want to run the risk that we don’t have a bed available? It is necessary to think carefully about the right balance.”
He is hopeful that sufficient staff can be recruited and kept. Van der Horst: “Perhaps this is partly due to the fame of Diederik Gommers. People are therefore consciously choosing to work in care. It is our job to ensure that they enjoy working in the ICU. If you take good care of it for your own people, they will in turn take good care of the patients.”