Schippers: Ban non-disclosure contracts in healthcare

Minister Edith Schippers of Public Health wants to ban non-disclosure contracts in health care. Such contracts should never prevent patients or families to report problems, according to her.

This follows the Tergooi hospital in Hilversum having a mother sign such a contract after her 21-year-old hockey player son Rogier Mooij died at the hospital, NU.nl reports. As a result the mother could not report mistakes the hospital made to the police or disciplinary court and was not allowed to talk to the media.

According to Schippers, this can not be allowed. Health institutions must not be allowed to force patients and relatives not to report mistakes and problems, she wrote in response to questions from the SP.  "I believe that excluding relatives from taking disciplinary and/or criminal action against the hospital and/or involved professionals is highly undesirable" the Minister wrote. "Such procedures are indeed (also) intended to monitor and promote the quality of care."

Schippers is calling on everyone that signed such a contract to report it to the Healthcare Inspectorate.