Minister Hermans apologises to Q fever patients on behalf of cabinet

Health minister Sophie Hermans (VVD) apologised to Q fever patients on behalf of the cabinet on Friday, at a symposium in the provincial government building in Den Bosch, almost twenty years after the outbreak began. "That I am sorry, and I offer my apologies for it," she said.

The cabinet acknowledges that too little was done to help citizens, both during and after the 2007–2010 epidemic. Hermans said: "A government that should have been there for you was not there."

Hermans also announced an individual support programme for patients, starting with one hundred people. The government had already set aside 2.5 million euros for it. She plans to share the results in Den Bosch next year.

Patient Jacqueline van den Bos said she had been waiting for an apology since the national ombudsman (Nationale ombudsman) held hearings on the outbreak in 2012. "I missed three words: I am sorry," she told Hermans at the meeting.

Hermans said she recognised the description of what went wrong. "We overlooked things while we were busy with other matters," she said. She added: "It will not be solved overnight. I have to be honest about that. But I feel a special responsibility. I hope other parties feel it too."