Vacancies skyrocket in Dutch mental health sector

The mental healthcare sector in the Netherlands is struggling to find enough qualified staff, according to an annual survey of the sector by Intrakoop and accountant Verstegen. The total number of vacancies in the sector grew by a massive 28.5 percent last year to 5,151, newspaper AD reports.

Almost a thousand of the vacancies were difficult to fill, according to the report. The total 186 mental healthcare organizations in the Netherlands are good for around 64 thousand full-time jobs, the researchers estimate.

Despite major changes in the industry, the sector is managing to keep its "head above water", according to the researchers. Last year 15 mental health organizations suffered a loss, compared to 34 organizations in 2015. In financial terms, small organizations generally booked better results than large institutions. Overall, the mental health organizations booked a "modest positive result" of 51 million euros.

Intrakoop is a cooperation that handles the purchases of hundreds of Dutch healthcare institutions, according to the newspaper.