Urgent request for GP posts: only call in an emergency | bel Inland

At a number of locations, the waiting time last weekend was up to an hour. The caregivers would like to prevent that next weekend. GP posts are there for care outside the opening hours of GP practices. For example, if you urgently need GP care on Saturdays, you can call this post. If the care can wait until after the weekend, it is not the intention to call the GP post.

Risk

“At the moment, a striking number of people are calling for matters that are not urgent,” said InEen. If the waiting times increase, people even call the emergency number of the general practitioner. “There is therefore a risk that people who need immediate care will not be able to reach us. This can lead to unsafe situations and we naturally want to prevent that,” says Corine van Geffen, board member of InEen and director of Huisartsenposten Amsterdam.

During the corona pandemic, people seemed very self-reliant, according to InEen. At that time, the GP was contacted mainly for urgent matters. It’s hard to say why that has suddenly changed. “It seems to be a combination of fewer corona measures, more going outside and exercising again. In addition, we also receive questions about corona vaccinations, for which we can only refer to the GGD,” says Van Geffen.

irritation

According to the organization, callers are irritated, especially if they are referred to their own GP when their complaints are not seen as urgent. GP stations and InEen ask ‘urgently’ to treat the people behind the telephone and at the post with respect.

–