“General practitioner chain Co-Med consists of commercial bloodsuckers,” responds Member of Parliament Jimmy Dijk of the SP. The controversial chain has already taken over several practices in Brabant and recently added two practices in Bergen op Zoom. “This is dangerous for patients,” says MP Dijk. “After takeover, practices are difficult to reach and sometimes even just closed.”
The SP is not the only party concerned about Co-Med. Several parties called on the House of Representatives to block new takeovers. So for now without result, given the acquisitions in Bergen op Zoom.
Problems and complaints
In Brabant, previous takeovers led to problems and, above all, many complaints. In Breda, for example, complaints were made about unreachable GPs or there was simply no one at the practice at all. In Reusel, a practice closed without notice from one day to the next. In Waalwijk, a practice was suddenly closed for a week because there was no GP.
There are not only concerns in national politics about the ever-expanding chain of general practitioners. In the municipality of Bergen op Zoom, too, attempts were made in vain to stop the takeovers by Co-Med.
Pause
“The chain is only concerned with money. They want as many patients as possible in their database, because Co-Med gets paid based on this number,” Dijk explains the commercial working method.
In response to the criticism, Co-Med says they are “often suggestive questions that we cannot place.” The company emphasizes that a lot is also going well, but unfortunately not everything. There will be no further acquisitions for the time being, because they first want to get the internal organization in order.