Most Dutch within 45 minutes of ER

Roughly 99.8 percent of the Dutch population can be transported to the nearest emergency room within 45 minutes, according to the National Institute for Public Health and Environment (RIVM). The 45-minute measure concerns the amount of time it takes to transport a patient to the closest accident and emergency center. Since the last analysis, three separate hospital emergency departments closed down, putting a new hospital on a critical list of facilities that should remain open. Shutting any hospitals on the critical list will lead to a sharp rise in the number of people who fall outside the 45-minute transit time range, the RIVM said. Hospitals should only stop offering acute care if its accessibility does not decrease.