Medical care in the Netherlands

General
Medication
Pharmacy (Apotheek)
Hospitals
Pregnancy & Maternity
Dentists
First Aid & Emergencies (Spoedgevallen)

General

Medical care in the Netherlands is excellent and technologically advanced. The medical system is a social provision, which means that everyone has health insurance and access to good care. The state also provides regular checkups for children. The downside of this system is that there can be long waiting lists for certain services.

The basic system begins with verzekering, or insurance, often provided through an employer. Once insured, you can choose a huisarts (general practitioner, GP, or family doctor). Your GP is your first point of contact for any illnesses except emergencies. He or she will direct you to specialists when you need them. Seeing a specialist requires a referral (verwijsbrief) if you want the insurance to cover the specialist’s fees. Doctors can all be expected to speak a good standard of English.

You will want to find a GP and register with them as soon as possible. This can take some time as there are often waiting lists. Ask your HR contact as soon as possible about locating local doctors without waiting lists. If you need medical attention while waiting to register, you can call 0900-8600 for a GP in your neighbourhood and ask to receive treatment as a non-registered patient (passant).

Most GPs’ surgeries close at 16:00 hrs and do not have weekend hours. You must usually get an appointment first, which you do by calling the receptionist. However, for minor ailments many doctors have a walk-in consulting hour (inloopspreekuur), usually between 8:00 and 9:00 hrs, where you can see the doctor on a first-come-first-served basis. Many doctors also have a telephone consultation hour (telefonische spreekuur) for simple questions or repeat prescriptions.

Children are given basic care and vaccinations through the local child health centre (consultatiebureau) (for children under 4 years of age) or the youth health and welfare doctor (jeugdarts) (for children aged 4-18 years), but in case of illnesses they should visit their GP. There is more information on children's care below.

Medication

Your GP can recommend medication and give you a prescription (recept). If you live in a country where the doctor always prescribes medicine for your ailments, then you may be surprised that Dutch doctors are often likely to recommend that you simply go home and rest. The Dutch are not keen on taking pills and medicines unnecessarily.

Pharmacy (Apotheek)

The Apotheek, the pharmacy or chemist’s, is where you obtain prescribed drugs and other related items, such as non-prescription cough syrup, vitamins, pain relievers and homeopathic medicines. You may be surprised to find that some items are only available by prescription in Holland, even though they may be available without a prescription in your country (and vice-versa).

A drogist is shop that sells over-the-counter medicines, especially homeopathic medicines, as well as day-to-day personal hygiene items, perfumes, baby supplies, etc. They are usually less expensive than a pharmacy. If you go to a drogist and ask for, say, a non-prescription allergy reliever, you may get something quite different than you would get at the chemist!

Recept is the Dutch word for prescription. Prescriptions may only be given by a doctor. He or she may ask which pharmacy you would like to collect your medicine from and contact them on your behalf. It can be to your advantage to use the same pharmacy for all your prescriptions.

Employees at the pharmacy are qualified, licensed pharmacists and can answer your questions about the drugs you are getting and about minor medical complaints. Opening hours are usually 8:00-17:30 hrs, and most are open for a few hours on Saturdays as well. If you need a prescription outside normal hours or at the weekend there is usually a duty pharmacy providing an out-of-hours service. Call                 070 3451000          to locate one. There is one at Schiphol airport as well (go to the first aid office).

If a pharmacy has night-time or weekend hours, this is usually posted in the window and also listed in the local newspaper under Medische Diensten (Medical Assistance). Here you will also find the numbers for the local hospitals and ambulance service.

Hospitals

There are many good hospitals in the Netherlands. You will find university, community and religious hospitals, and all can be expected to have a high level of care. Most Dutch hospitals offer the same specializations, so that going to one hospital is as good as going to the next. However, some do specialize in particular ailments. Your GP can direct you to a suitable one if this is the case.

Children’s Hospitals

While all hospitals have children’s wards, there are also several excellent children’s hospitals in the country. These are particularly likely to have accommodation for parents or relatives who want to be close at hand.

Pregnancy & Maternity

Pregnancy
When you found out you are pregnant, pay a visit to your GP. He or she can tell you what will be the next steps. Probably you are suggested to contact a midwife (verloskundige). In the Netherlands midwifes closely monitor the whole pregnancy. You are probably invited to have a consult on a monthly basis at the start, which will rise in frequency when you are nearing the end.

During your pregnancy you are offered two echo-scans, one at about 10 weeks and one around 20 weeks. With these scans the growth and progress of the pregnancy and the baby are checked.

Giving birth
The World Health Organization lists the Netherlands as one of the world’s safest places to have a baby! Most women in Holland remain under the care of a midwife (verloskundige) during pregnancy and childbirth. If you want to go straight to a gynaecologist rather than a midwife, you must first get a referral from your GP.

In the Netherlands, homebirths are relatively popular. About 55% of births are planned to take place in the home. If this is not for you, you can always choose to have your baby at hospital. However, some insurance companies will not cover a hospital birth unless there is a medically compelling reason to do so. So you should ask about the cover provided by your policy first.

Pain Medication
As natural births are also popular, pain medication is normally not offered during birth either at home or in the hospital. If you want pain relief, you must make it very clear to your care providers! Do not be afraid to ask for what you want, and stick to your wishes. Inform your doctor or midwife that you are from a different country and want your traditional form of care, whatever that is. Be aware that midwives are usually not trained to administer pain relief medication, so having it will possibly require a hospital birth.

Postnatal care
The birth is followed by a programme of postnatal care, or kraamzorg. A postnatal welfare practitioner will come to your home for the first week after the birth or your return home with the baby. She will come over for several hours a day and help with everything to help you adjust: cooking, cleaning, feeding, changing, child minding, etc. Be sure to register for kraamzorg as soon as possible, preferably at the beginning of your pregnancy. Sometimes your insurance company will tell you which organizations you can register with in your area. Some insurers leave the choice to you.

Kinderbijslag (Child benefit)
The Dutch social security system pays an allowance to help pay for the cost of child raising. To receive it, you must first make an application. The forms are available in English from your post office. You can also request one from the Sociale Verzekeringsbank (SVB). When you apply, the SVB will ask you to send a list of vaccinations for every child living with you, so that they can send you a reminder whenever another one is due.

Registering your child
All births in Holland must be registered. The law says that this must be done within 3 days of the birth. Births can be registered at the town hall (gemeentehuis) by you, your partner or a nurse. The following documents will be required:

• both parents' passports
• child's birth certificate
• marriage certificate (if applicable) unless both parents are already registered in Holland
• Residence permits
• If unmarried, a declaration must be written by the mother stating the identity of the father. The couple must bring this and their ID to the town hall before the baby is born.

Some countries allow you to register the foreign birth of a child at the embassy. Contact the embassy before the birth so that you know what to do and what the time limits are, if any. When you register your child’s birth, you can ask the official for an ‘international birth certificate’, which may prove useful in your home country. If you need the international birth certificate to register a foreign birth at your embassy, it will be provided free of charge. A fee is payable for any other copies.

You will also have to register the child with the Aliens Police (Vreemdelingenpolitie). Call ahead as an appointment may be necessary. Take the original international birth certificate and your passport with you.

You should also register your child with a child health centre (consultatiebureau) where your child will have regular check-ups and vaccinations. Your Midwife or postnatal welfare practitioner (kraamzorg) can tell you more about the dealings of a child health centre and where to find one in your neighbourhood.

Dentists

Choosing a dentist (Tandarts) is just like choosing your doctor. Dentists are in high demand in Holland, so you may need help from your HR contact to find a local dentist accepting new patients. Call as soon as possible and get your family's names on the waiting list, so hopefully you will be registered when the need arises. You can also look under ‘Tandartsen’ in the yellow pages or in the online telephone directory, where you will also find a 24-hour dentist emergency service (‘Algemene Tandartsen Spoedgevallen’). Dental care tends to be expensive; if you want, you can get a written estimate for recommended treatment prior to undergoing the procedures.

First Aid & Emergencies (Spoedgevallen)

The emergency phone number for the fire, police and ambulance service is 112. The accident and emergency department in hospitals is called EHBO (eerste hulp bij ongevallen). You can go to the accident and emergency unit at your nearest hospital to receive immediate attention following an accident, without making an appointment. Take your insurance card for the hospital records.
They will bill you after your treatment and this amount can be reclaimed from your insurance company.