News item | 14-04-2023 | 2:20 pm
The cabinet has agreed to set up a committee to supervise the concentration of pediatric heart surgery and the resulting division of complex care at the UMCs. On Thursday 13 April, Minister Kuipers of Health, Welfare and Sport announced his final decision to concentrate the operations of children with a congenital heart defect at the UMC Groningen and the Erasmus MC. A transition period of 2.5 years is expected to properly regulate this concentration of care. The minister has set up a supervisory committee with independent experts to supervise this transition and advise on the measures to be taken.
The Dutch Federation of University Medical Centers (NFU) and the university medical centers (umcs) are themselves responsible for realizing the transition. The committee supports and advises the NFU and the UMCs in this regard. The committee will also ensure that patient organizations are intensively involved in the transition. Where necessary, this also applies to the involvement of healthcare professionals and health insurers. The committee also monitors progress and is in contact with the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport.
The committee consists of five members and is chaired by Prof. Dr. Samsom:
- prof. dr. M. Samsom, chairman
Melvin Samsom is professor of gastrointestinal and liver diseases with experience as a director in a national and international context. As chairman of the Board of Directors of Radboud university medical center and director of Karolinska (Sweden), he initiated and supervised major transitions. - prof. dr. AHE Koolman
Xander Koolman is professor of Health Economics and has been Head of the Health Economics Section at VU Amsterdam since 2017. He has extensive experience with both research into effective care and working with official organisations. - drs. Th. G. Lankamp
Theo Lankamp is a clinical and organizational psychologist. He specializes in leadership, change management and organizational processes. He has worked for clients within government institutions, as well as in the business community. - drs. D.A. Veldman
Dianda Veldman has been director of the Netherlands Patient Federation since 2015. She is also a member of the Supervisory Board of SafetyNL and Hivos. Previously, she worked in various management and executive positions within the business and social sector. - Ir. MJ Verdier
Monique Verdier has been vice-chairman at the Dutch Data Protection Authority since 2019. She is also a supervisor at various healthcare organizations and advises supervisory boards on good governance. Before that, she was chairman of the transmural network Midden-Holland for eight years. In this role, she has, among other things, realized cooperation in oncological care between different hospitals.