Heart patients call doctors, nurses rude

The "Heart patients" Hotline evaluated the complaints it received in its first year of existence and announced them on Monday. The most common complaint about physicians and nursing staff is that they are "rude" and "arrogant."

The "Heart Patients" Hotline was initiated to register an increasing amount of reports and complaints from heart patients of the Ruwaard van Putten (RvP) hospital in Spijkenisse.

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Patients from other disciplines turned to the hotline as well with complaints about hospitals, practitioners, physicians, specialists, and nursing staff, driving the number of complaints up to 3,000 over the first year.

Most people (1052) complained about practitioners and doctors being rude and arrogant. The way information was communicated to the patient took second place with 1007 complaints. The (lack of) coöperation between practitioners was good for 225 complaints, and only a relatively small number of complaints came in about medical misses, resulting in fatalities in some cases.

'The largest part of the complaints was about the now bankrupt Ruwaard van Putten hospital, followed by the Admiraal de Ruyter hospital (ADRZ) in Zeeland, and the Haga hospital in The Hague,' said Marly van Overveld who oversees the Hotline.

'The Hotline has gained much influence in its first year of existence,' said Van Overveld, who goes on to say: 'most hospitals are willing to discuss the complaints.'

'We have already reached adequate agreements with ADRZ and Haga, with most of the problems already resolved. The ADRZ gave patients the option to consult with an independent cardiologist, and the cardiologists involved were replaced, in consultation with "Hartpatienten Nederland." The RvP refused coöperation and dismissed the complaints,' said Van Overveld.