Poor returns at hospitals are hindering much-needed investments, says accounting firm BDO in its annual report on the financial situation of the hospital sector. Hospitals in Drenthe recognize the problem and point to the central government for a solution.
In terms of financial health, hospitals in the Netherlands scored an average score of 7.2 last year. By no means a failing grade, but it does not mean that there are no problems lurking. According to BDO, the efficiency of a number of mainly smaller hospitals drops to the critical lower limit of 1 percent.
Hospitals must be able to spend money to shape digitalization and other healthcare processes. This is less successful because the return drops from an average of 1.9 to 1.6 percent. The main causes are increased personnel costs (due to hiring external workers and higher salaries for permanent staff), inflation and higher energy expenditure.
These are problems that Treant, which has hospital locations in Hoogeveen and Emmen, among others, also faces. The institution’s yield fell from 1.70 in 2021 to 1.12 last year.
In the long term, this means that investments will come under pressure. “We don’t have to postpone anything yet, but 2024 will be an exciting year,” says Ron Akkerman of Treant’s board of directors.
According to Akkerman, Treant is mainly affected by higher energy costs because the hospital buildings are ‘outdated’. New construction should help reduce those costs. “But then you have to have the resources,” he says. It bothers him that, in his view, the central government is not compensating enough for the rising costs. The solution does not lie in higher premiums for citizens, he says, but in a different distribution of tax revenues, so that more money goes to healthcare.
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