Belgian ambulances to get access to Dutch hospitals this year
Health Minister Hermans says rules will change before the end of the year, so that Belgian crews in the border region can drive emergency patients to the nearest hospital, Dutch or Belgian.
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Illustrative photo: Fred Romero from Paris, France / CC BY 2.0.jpg){kind=link}
Belgian ambulances will soon be allowed to take patients to Dutch hospitals. Health Minister Hermans says the rules will change before the end of the year and that the changes are in the "final stages".
In an emergency in the border region, the Belgian dispatch centre will then look for the nearest hospital without taking the border into account.
Under the current rules, Belgian ambulances may not take patients to a Dutch hospital, even if it is closer than a Belgian one or offers more suitable medical care. Dutch ambulances are already allowed to take patients to a Belgian hospital.
The only remaining obstacle is the difference in reimbursement of the rides and the medical care, Hermans says, because the Netherlands and Belgium use different systems. The Dutch Health Ministry and the Belgian federal public health service are in talks to resolve it.
Hermans also wrote that cross-border cooperation is mainly prepared for urgent, large-scale crises. "No structural agreements have yet been made with neighbouring countries for long-lasting crises."
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