To determine whether foreign care diplomas meet Dutch requirements, these diplomas must be inspected faster. The Catharina Hospital in Eindhoven argues for this. Foreign care workers can then work earlier in their own position in the Netherlands. Now, according to the hospital, healthcare workers are soon two years further before they know if their diplomas meet Dutch requirements. “That scares off,” says manager Mark van den Broek of the Catharina Hospital.
Van den Broek has now working four women from abroad in the children’s department, in particular in birth care. “Two years ago there were still zero,” he says.
Extra staff is desperately needed. In the Eindhoven region, the population is growing at lightning speed, in particular due to the arrival of many expats that will work at companies such as ASML. The partners of these expats could be those much needed extra hands if they have a care diploma in their pocket. Only there is something involved.
When can you work in a Dutch hospital with a foreign diploma?
Someone from abroad must first be able to speak Dutch to work in the hospital. If the required language papers are received, someone can only submit the foreign care diploma to have it inspected. The Central Information Point for Healthcare (CIBG) assesses the diploma on behalf of the Ministry of Welfare, Health and Sport. For some care professions, tests must also be taken.
“The importance of recognizing a foreign care diploma is in guaranteeing patient safety,” says a spokesperson for CIBG. “The BIG Act prescribes that foreign care diplomas must first be recognized by an independent committee to test whether the level of education is equivalent to the Dutch level of education in order to guarantee patient safety.”
“I am in favor of a careful assessment of what someone can do, especially if someone works in healthcare,” says Van den Broek about the procedure that is outlined in the framework above. “But I wonder if it can’t be otherwise? You could also take a practical exam. And you can develop a process that you judge in three months and look at what someone can actually do.”
According to him, people who not only have a diploma, but also have a lot of experience. He mentions the example of an Irish midwife who now works in the Catharina Hospital. She has already done more than a thousand births. “Then you will look much more at what someone can do, instead of what was once obtained as a diploma ten years ago.”
Depending on the healthcare profession, the entire process of recognizing diplomas between six months and a year and a half, says the CIBG inspection body. Then only the basic diploma is weighed. In practice, Van den Broek sees that an inspection process takes much longer: “That process for a basic diploma will take a year to a year and a half. After that, another body has to assess the specialty and that will also take at least half a year.” Inspection agency CIBG announced on questions about this period to act ‘within the statutory periods’.
“Fifty percent of patients in this department speak English.”
The foreign employees can already do something in the hospital in the time that they are waiting for approval. They do that as someone who is in training, under supervision. “They are all highly educated. It requires a lot of motivation and perseverance of these people,” says Van den Broek. According to him, they, however, already become familiar with the Dutch way of working in this way.
The foreign employees are more than welcome in the Catharina Hospital, precisely because more and more patients from abroad are reporting in the birth care department. The workforce must be a reflection of the international society that Eindhoven has become, Van den Broek says. The four women who now work in the department come from Spain, Brazil, South Africa and Ireland. “Fifty percent of patients in this department speak English. It is about people from all kinds of corners who want to be helped slightly differently. This group of employees can also help with that.”
Especially for Dutch employees, the arrival of foreign patients is a challenge, where foreign colleagues can help them again. For example when it comes to the English language. According to Van den Broek, the Irish obstetrician and the South African nurse are also playing a role in this: “To help colleagues with medical terms in English, for example.”
Germany wants action
The problem of long wait for approval plays broader. The German Minister of Labor hopes to be able to accelerate the recognition of foreign diplomas this year, reported Bnr Earlier this year. The German authorities that carry out the checks work much too bureaucratic and therefore, according to the Minister of Labor, the broom must go through it.
In Germany, foreign healthcare workers are desperately needed due to large staff shortages.
