The distance that North Hollanders have to travel to the nearest GP varies greatly. While the distance is minimal in large cities such as Amsterdam and Haarlem, it is a lot greater in the more rural municipalities. Texel takes the cake: islanders have to travel the furthest there in the whole of the Netherlands at an average of 2.8 kilometers.
On average, Dutch people have to travel 1.1 kilometers by road to get to the doctor. On Texel, residents travel the furthest in the Netherlands, but within North Holland there are still a number of municipalities where you have to travel an above-average distance to the doctor:
- Dutch Crown (1.9)
- Drechtland (1.6)
- Uithoorn (1.5)
- Mountains (1.4)
- Medemblik (1.3)
- Edam-Volendam (1.3)
- Wijdemeren (1.3)
- Koggenland (1.3)
The map below shows how far you have to travel on average in your municipality to arrive at the nearest GP. Text continues
However, the great distance to the GP does not pose any problems for Texel residents or tourists on the island, according to Ylvie Verschoor of the GP organization HKN. “In many cases, Texel residents and passers-by can even reach their GP faster than people from the city, for example, due to the good infrastructure on Texel.”
Concerns in the Noordkop
The municipality of Hollands Kroon scores ‘worst’ after Texel when it comes to the average travel distance to the nearest GP. General practitioners in that municipality warned of life-threatening situations in 2022 a documentary by NHwhere people cannot reach a GP when they need one.
The situation with the number of general practitioners in the Noordkop is now stable, according to Verschoor. “We are still finding new general practitioners for our region and are also doing our best to recruit new general practitioners. We are working hard with our current general practitioners to guarantee good general practitioner care for all residents of the Noordkop.”
Average distance increases
The average travel time to the nearest GP has been increasing in North Holland for years. From research by NH in 2023 showed that people have the feeling that general practitioner care is becoming less and less accessible. This could simply have to do with the distance that people have to travel to the doctor.
A spokesperson for the National Association of General Practitioners (LHV) acknowledged that a longer travel distance can have an impact on the accessibility of care. “A GP practice in one’s own district or neighborhood is always preferred. The strength of GP care is the accessible, well-known access to care, with a permanent GP and practice team. A longer travel time may be possible, especially for less mobile and vulnerable patients. raise barriers.”