Citizens have the right to comprehensive and accessible healthcare, especially in a region struggling with more than average health problems. For this reason, residents of Dutch region Parkstad will demonstrate next Friday against the cutback plans.
Opinion piece by Beata Bruggeman-Sekowska for the Dutch newspaper De Volkskrant: https://www.volkskrant.nl/columns-opinie/opinie-juist-deze-limburgse-regio-verdient-volwaardige-ziekenzorg~b51a4244/
On October 18, the Hospital Alliance, representing eight municipalities in the Parkstad and Heuvelland region, and the General Practitioners Alliance will hold a protest at the headquarters of health insurer CZ against the planned downsizing of the hospital in Heerlen. Theo de Groot from the Hospital Alliance states that they seek clarification on the role CZ plays as a health insurer in our region. It is estimated that around five hundred people will participate in the demonstration in Tilburg. Both alliances believe it is unacceptable for the intensive care unit (ICU), emergency room (ER), and birth center in Heerlen to be relocated to Geleen by 2030. These plans would mean that Parkstad would be the only Dutch region with more than 257,000 inhabitants without an emergency room by 2030.
