healthcare
The cry from three general practitioners in De Standaard does not fall on deaf ears. The responsible ministers Frank Vandenbroucke (Vooruit) and Hilde Crevits (CD&V) show understanding. “But many levers for change have been put in place.”
“Dear general practitioners, you are an essential link in good healthcare and I take your signals seriously,” writes Federal Minister of Health Frank Vandenbroucke (Vooruit) in a letter to the three young general practitioners who testified in De Standaard. They warned that a “tsunami” is coming their way, while “no one is listening to the work floor”. The major shortage of general practitioners in a number of regions, among other things, puts pressure on the quality of their work.
According to Vandenbroucke, change is coming. “But I understand that this is often too slow in your eyes,” he writes in his charm offensive. “I also understand that the information often does not trickle down enough and that you sometimes do not have enough time to work on the changes. But that should not prevent us from thinking ahead. After all, more of the same will not provide a solution.” Flemish Minister of Welfare Hilde Crevits (CD&V) also shows understanding for the concerns and emphasizes that Flanders is taking steps.
Work differently
The governments have already increased the doctor quotas so that more students can start their GP training. This should solve the shortages in the long term. Through a series of surveys, the governments are also trying to better map the concrete problems per region. But Vandenbroucke also points out that the profession “will and may not be the same tomorrow as it is today”.
He refers to his “New Deal” that he presented last year to ease the work of general practitioners. Interested general practices can join a new system, which makes it easier for them to engage support staff. They are no longer fully reimbursed per service, but also partly via a fixed lump sum per affiliated patient. Although this New Deal revolution is on a voluntary basis, it is still in its infancy.
Crevits also supported the New Deal and provides a premium of 10,000 euros from Flanders when a general practice hires a nurse. The minister also recently launched a “care flow coach” that will soon help general practitioners to organize their practices differently and find their way to premiums.
The federal government is also allocating extra budget for GPs in training who work in regions with a major GP shortage.
Fewer umbrella certificates
In the meantime, all parties, across majorities and opposition, argue for less administration for general practitioners. This concerns, for example, the abolition of short-term sick notes, but especially the abolition of the many so-called ‘umbrella certificates’ that, for example, sports clubs, schools and crèches request to cover themselves against liability claims.
