On 1 October, the first outpatient clinic for immigrant patients, called Vatan, will open in Amsterdam. The clinic was founded by six doctors of Turkish descent and focuses mainly on the first generation of immigrants.
Out of dissatisfaction with the Dutch healthcare many Turks – health insurer Agis estimates about 30,000 a year – visit doctors in Turkey. Needless, think pediatrician Sukru Genco from Vatan. According to Genco, they are overtreated or sometimes mishandled themselves. In addition, these people simply pay tax and health insurance premiums in the Netherlands † they should therefore be well helped in the Netherlands.
Younger Generation
And that's where it's going wrong right now. “Folders and information in a foreign language have been deleted in hospitals. You just have to adapt. In the first generation, that failed Genco told the Amsterdam newspaper Het Parool. He therefore expects that his clinic will no longer be needed in ten years' time, because the younger generations will then better find their way in Dutch healthcare. have found.
Patients are only helped at Vatan with a referral letter from a general practitioner or specialist † The consultations are charged to the health insurer, just like with a regular doctor's visit. No medical procedures are performed.
According to Genco, ninety percent of Turks who are now receiving treatment in Turkey would opt for treatment in the Netherlands if there were a clinic like Vatan. The pediatrician also hopes that Moroccan doctors join.
