In the first week of the night closure of the emergency department, five patients went from Meppel to Zwolle. That is less than the expected number of three emergencies per night.
That says Andrea Bies, spokesperson for the Isala Hospital in Meppel. “Consultations with general practitioners, ambulance services and surrounding hospitals show that this temporary situation is going well. No problems are experienced,” she says.
This is partly because GPs are prepared for the closure of the hospital in Meppel. “We notice that general practitioners take this into account and, if necessary, immediately advise someone to drive to another hospital in the region,” says Bies.
As a result, the organization is less able to make a comparison between the situation before the night closure and now. “It is all the more important that the care providers in the region regularly keep a finger on the pulse to check whether the emergency care at night is going well,” says Bies. “We see that things are going well.”
From April there will be enough ER doctors and physician assistants to be open again at night in Meppel.