There is a threat of a shortage of general practitioners in West Friesland: “We are overflowing”

General practitioner Bart van Oostendorp from Ursem will be making his voice heard this afternoon at the Malieveld. He really wants something to change in his profession. He summarizes: “Work pressure, still no successor and the maintenance of general practitioner care in West Friesland.” “Especially that last point is important. That is our biggest concern. The supply of general practitioners in our region is simply too small.”

Together with his wife, he goes to The Hague to demonstrate, just like many other general practitioners and doctor’s assistants from West Friesland. “We have to ring the bell.”

To disappear

It is a fear that Janneke Lof also shares. She runs a practice in Midwoud together with Saskia van Eijk. For twenty years. In total they have 3,200 patients. She has seen many changes over the years. “I’m afraid we will disappear, become victims of the shortage in care.”

The number of GPs with their own practice has been declining for years, especially in villages. It is no longer attractive and too expensive. But that’s not the only thing that bothers her. “Do you have a minute?” it sounds. There is a silence, after which she continues. “I spend fifty percent of my time on peripheral matters. There are long waiting lists everywhere in healthcare, so that we remain the first point of contact. Everything ends up on our plate.”

waiting lists

Praise wants those waiting lists – such as in youth care and mental health care – to be resolved. “Because patients who are on the waiting list for this often come to us in the meantime.”

So quite a job. Recently, the health and safety service and aftercare for cancer have also been added. “I get it, because the hospitals are also overflowing. But there’s just no room for that, no matter how much we want to. We are overflowing.”

Annemarie Lüchinger, a young GP in Berkhout, regularly experiences that the care is transferred to the GP. She is single-handedly responsible for her practice. Eighteen months ago, she took over that practice in the Kerkebuurt from the ‘GP couple’ Hanne Bergmeijer and Jan Sturris. A move she still stands behind. “This is the best profession in the world. But I see that enthusiasm around me is decreasing, especially among young general practitioners.”

More time for patients

Housing problems and work pressure play a role in this, notes Lüchinger. “I completely understand that they are not eager to take over a practice. I ran into that myself. We have now become a company, given all that administration. Filling in forms, making statements and managing personnel.”

More time for a consultation is therefore a starting point for Lüchinger. “From 10 minutes to 15. More time for a patient. It has long been proven that the extra time pays off.”

A hat

The general practitioners of Berkhout, Ursem, Avenhorn and Spierdijk have a wish: a joint health center on the Dwingel in De Goorn, on the site of the empty Jozef School. “In this way we can guarantee continuity. Complement each other, if someone drops out. Offer healthcare in our region a future.”

That seems to be fulfilled, because the politicians in Koggenland have come to an agreement. And with that, after more than a year of discussion, there is a HAT (GPs Under One Roof). Four general practices, a pharmacy and a branch of the Dijklander Hospital will be located here.