Dozens of (former) employees of Co-Med, including seven branches in Brabant, are concerned about how Co-Med is run. Everything would revolve around money and patients are often the victims of that, employees report to EenVandaag.
EenVandaag spent months researching to the controversial healthcare chain and spoke to dozens of current and former employees. Co-Med has been in the news a lot lately because the company is taking over GP practices across the country. One today previously reported that a Co-Med practice in Breda was barely accessible for months last summer.
Currently, takeovers of general practices are also imminent in Waalwijk and Bergen op Zoom. The business plan in the hands of EenVandaag shows that Co-Med can make a profit of 79,000 euros per general practice, at least 30 percent.
Great dissatisfaction
Meanwhile, problems would pile up at Co-Med’s practices. According to the employees that EenVandaag spoke to, there is sometimes no GP present in the practices for days. There would also be no back-up for patients if a doctor is urgently needed.
Because of the lack of GPs, doctors’ assistants say they suddenly have different responsibilities. They tell EenVandaag that sometimes they have to do things for which they are not authorized.
Moreover, Co-Med would not be an attractive place to work because of the unfavorable conditions. Employees also complain that they have sometimes had to wait months for a salary. Some of them are still waiting.
One of the former employees says he hopes that the general practitioner chain ‘falls quickly’.
Been playing for a long time
The Health and Youth Care Inspectorate is currently investigating Co-Med and other commercial GP providers.
Co-Med has long been controversial. For example, after the takeover of a practice in Breda, the general practitioners were replaced by observers, who were difficult to reach. On Monday, a branch in Reusel suddenly closed, leaving patients on the doorstep.
The Health and Youth Care Inspectorate received 27 complaints about the Brabant Co-Med branches this year alone. An investigation into the organization is ongoing, it is unknown when that will be completed.
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2023-05-29 09:42:42
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