Vroegop: Kingdom should share responsibility for healthcare

ORANJESTAD — Horacio Oduber Hospital director Jacco Vroegop is calling for stronger cooperation within the Kingdom of the Netherlands to ensure timely access to appropriate healthcare. In an opinion article published by Dossier Koninkrijksrelaties, he proposes examining whether essential healthcare should become a shared Kingdom responsibility.

Vroegop criticises proposals by PVV parliamentarians to scrap an additional €30 million for the Caribbean Netherlands and restrict extra healthcare funding. He stresses that residents of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba are Dutch citizens: funding their healthcare is a Dutch responsibility.

According to Vroegop, the six islands depend on one another for specialist care, while funding and regulations remain organised separately. He cites research identifying shortcomings in information, support and coordination for patients who must travel for treatment.

Key points:

- Distance and small populations make healthcare more expensive; this does not automatically indicate waste.

- Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten retain responsibility for healthcare, good governance and sound financial management.

- Regional cooperation needs firm agreements on specialists, patient transfers, emergencies and funding.

- Much of this cooperation can be arranged under existing rules without first amending the Kingdom Charter.

- Prevention and primary care also need priority.

Vroegop sees the four-country meeting announced for November as an opportunity to reach concrete agreements. His central message is that healthcare organisation must serve patients and ensure timely treatment, regardless of which island they live on.

Source: opinion article by Jacco Vroegop, director of Horacio Oduber Hospital Aruba, published by Dossier Koninkrijksrelaties.