Slotervaart, IJsselmeer hospitals declared bankrupt

MC Slotervaart in Amsterdam and the MC IJsselmeer hospitals in Lelystad and surroundings were all declared bankrupt on Thursday. The hospitals filed for deferment of payment on Tuesday.

A spokesperson for the court of Amsterdam confirmed MC Slotervaart's bankruptcy to Het Parool. According to the newspaper, the hospital will close in the short term. On Wednesday the hospital stopped admitting any new patients.

There are still 80 patients in the hospital. They will be transferred to other hospitals in the coming days. This also applies to the outpatient clinic. The intensive care units are already empty. "This trajectory will be performed carefully and in consultation with all involved parties", the hospital said, according to the newspaper. The bankruptcy administrators are currently figuring out how to deal with patient data in a way that is in accordance with privacy guidelines.

The MC IJssemleer hospitals that are now bankrupt are MC Zuiderzee, MC Emmeloord, MC Dronten and midwifery practice De Kreek, NU.nl reports. These hospitals will not close immediately. The bankruptcy curators will officially dismiss all employees and benefits agency UWV will take over salary payments. The court declared a "cooling off period" of two months. During this time creditors can not collect goods that are their property from the hospitals, a spokesperson said to the newspaper.

The municipalities of Lelystad, Almere, Noordoostpolder, Urk, Dronten and Zeewolde, and the province of Flevoland called it "unacceptable that the continuity of care stops and that the hospital disappears from Lelystad", according to NU.nl. They again stressed that the province is vast. "Achieving the legal response times for ambulances is already difficult. The disappearance of MC Zuiderzee in Lelystad has major consequences for all 180 thousand residents in the service area of our hospital and causes major social unrest."