“Schijndel GP practices have very little space”

29 minutes ago
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shine | According to research by Independer, two in three GPs experience partial or complete patient cessation because they can no longer cope with the pressure. “The problem is multifaceted, has multiple causes and has different impacts across the country,” says the National Association of General Practitioners. General Clinic De Poolster is the only clinic in Schijndel that has no stopping patients yet, but there they are also reaching their limits. General practitioner Max Robbins points out that the lack of training space in Schijndal is the main reason.

De Poolster's general practice includes the practices of Rubens, Van Cromvoirt & Mooren, and Mustard & Moazzeni. Robbins explains the situation in Schijndal: “The two clinics in this building are still open. We still have some space, but not much. However, the other clinics in the Schijndal center all have patient stops. Every two months we have a meeting with all practices to find out who is not “He still has space, so we're trying to divide it up. It's important that everyone has a GP.”

The limit is agreed upon
“If you notice that a place is too crowded, you've reached your limit,” Robbins says. Therefore, he agreed with his colleagues on the maximum number of patients for their practice. “That's what we're up against now. We've actually created more space by having the doctor we employ work three days instead of two days from now on. Mostard and Mawazini's practice has a little more space.

Very little training space
According to Robbins, the reason general practitioners in Schindel cannot accept more patients is because they do not have enough space for physical exercise. “We still have enough space, and we expanded not long ago,” Robbins explains. “But other practices are stringent, and that's the biggest problem. That's why they're looking at whether they can expand as well. The General Practitioners' Association also points out that you can train more doctors, but if you don't have space, there's no point.”

The costs are very high
According to Robbins, the reason many GPs are short of space is a lack of suitable space and high housing costs. “The rates received by GPs are not calculated on these high costs, but are set centrally and are the same across the country. This means that property prices are not taken into account. Doctors therefore often choose cheap and easy places to start practice. This “It creates a shortage in some places, even though there is no shortage of doctors.”

Fortunately there's no one here yet
General business practices

Commercial service providers
Another major issue is that commercial providers are once again filling this gap. “Often they don't even have a physical practice. Fortunately, we don't yet have any general commercial practices here and we also want to prevent them from becoming available. This still works well because the area is attractive to new doctors. We have a nice population, and our location is central “In the country and close to major cities. We also have a good building here and the automation is in good condition.” “There must be sufficient government support for housing doctors,” Robbins concludes. “These public resources must be in place, and the government must facilitate this in cooperation with health insurance companies.”

Additional tasks
But according to Robbins, an aging population, more assignments from specialists and hospitals and longer waiting lists for mental health care (ggz) are also contributing to GPs being busy. “You have to monitor the care yourself. If you want, you can spend all day doing administration, but if I don't have time, I'll leave it alone. Then everything is recorded less well. The administrative burden is a burden, and health care is very bureaucratic.”

Need more support
However, Robbins doesn't mind putting more tasks on GPs, “because if we don't, it will happen in more expensive secondary care.” But then GPs should receive adequate support. “The shortage of support staff is a major problem in healthcare. As a result, GPs have to do a lot of administrative work themselves. It is not a problem for tasks to be outsourced to the GP, but it should be facilitated.

Practice scratching your puppy's legs
Fortunately, at Huisartsenpraktijk De Poolster, patients have not yet reached the point where they end up on a waiting list. Robbins: “You can always go to your doctor the same day or the next day, but maybe not always. In other places, the wait times are increasing. All the practices in Vigil have been full for a while, so we have already received letters from people who wanted to come to us. Fortunately, Veghels Groen Zero practice will be opening there in March. They start with nothing, but are supported by other practices so they can grow quickly.