THE HAGUE--Referrals of Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba residents to hospitals and specialists abroad are a complicated matter, but the Dutch Government says it has managed to remove the major bottlenecks.
In his letter to the Second Chamber last week Wednesday, Dutch Minister of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations Piet Hein Donner tried to assure Parliament that all was well when it came to medical and health facilities for residents of the Dutch 'public entities' Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba.
Responding to the many complaints of citizens and local government officials about the medical arrangements abroad, Parliament had submitted a number of critical questions to the Minister before the summer recess in which it sought clarity on health care facilities available to island residents.
In his response Donner stated that the Dutch cabinet was aware that the implementation of the new general health insurance effective January 1 had "led to certain problems."
"These mainly concerned medical referrals abroad, including the non-distribution of cheques, internal control problems because of the transfer of existing personnel and problems relating to emergency transportations," stated the Minister.
According to Donner, the introduction of the new general health insurance went well in several aspects. "The helicopter for Saba is now operational for night flights, agreements were made on the payment for medical referrals abroad, contracts were sealed with large health care institutions in the region and the privatisation of local health care institutions was completed. There is also regular consultation to analyse and solve the bottlenecks," stated Donner.
The Minister explained that contracts had been arranged with St. Maarten Medical Center (SMMC) and specialists in French St. Martin for people of St. Eustatius and Saba. Residents of Bonaire are being referred to hospitals in Aruba and Cura�ao.
Contracts are being made with the academic hospital in Guadeloupe for referrals for "top clinical and academic care" that exceed the capacity of hospitals in St. Maarten, Aruba and Cura�ao. Agreements are being prepared between France and the Netherlands to facilitate the practical aspects of this cooperation when it comes to immigration and administrative issues.
Patients already are being referred to Guadeloupe in anticipation of these agreements, explained Donner. More serious medical specialist care already has been arranged in Colombia. According to the Minister, access to these facilities has been "guaranteed for everyone." The start-up problems should gradually become a thing of the past, he added. The arrangements will be evaluated on a regular basis.
Two English-Dutch-French translators have been arranged for patients from St. Eustatius and Saba who need to go to Guadeloupe. In Colombia, patients are being seen by English-speaking specialists and personnel where possible.
The National Helicopters medical emergency evacuation helicopter in St. Maarten is now available 24/7. The helicopter service is mostly meant for Saba where no regular flights can land at night. Emergency lighting has been installed at Saba's airport through financing of the Dutch Ministry of Transport and Water Management VWS.
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