Jul 21, 2023 at 11:10am Update: 9 minutes ago
The plan to close the two departments for pediatric heart surgery in Leiden and Utrecht may go ahead for the time being, the preliminary relief judge decided on Friday. Later this year, a judge will examine whether the decision to close the departments is legal.
The centers in Leiden and Utrecht asked the judge to press the “pause button”, but the judge did not agree.
According to the preliminary relief judge, the decision of caretaker Minister Ernst Kuipers (Public Health) has not yet “irreversible consequences”. Therefore, there is no reason to pause the decision.
The state attorney, who defended Kuipers’ plan during the case, did not want the plan to be paused. The minister wants the concentration to be arranged by October and says that the time to arrange this is badly needed.
Why is there a lot to do about these proposed closures?
At the moment, operations for congenital heart defects in children take place in Rotterdam, Groningen, Leiden and Utrecht. From October 2025, Kuipers wants this to only take place in Rotterdam and Groningen. That would be better for the quality of care. The decision not only causes unrest among staff, but also among patients. They would have to go to other locations for operations. The LUMC could even lose its status as an academic hospital if the pediatric heart surgery department disappears.
Hospitals must start preparing in advance
The judge’s decision means that hospitals must already talk about how they can centralize pediatric heart surgery. Kuipers does not yet require them to make preparations that require major investments. The discussions should be about how the quality of care can be improved.
Even if the court decides at the end of this year that Kuipers’ plan will not go ahead after all, these talks will not have been in vain, according to the preliminary relief judge.
Erasmus MC in Rotterdam, where the department is allowed to stay, agrees with the judge’s decision. “This can improve the quality of care even further. We are confident that pediatric heart surgery will continue at a high level in the future,” says a spokesperson. The UMC in Groningen also agrees with the decision and says it is “nice” that the preparations can continue.
The judge will decide later this year whether the plan can go ahead. After that, the parties can still appeal.
2023-07-21 10:22:56
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