New Medical Care Minister Dijkstra wants to accomplish more than just minding the store

Becoming Minister of Health, Welfare and Sport (VWS) was never a girl's dream for Pia Dijkstra (D66). When she was approached last week to take over from Ernst Kuipers, who had suddenly left for an unknown work destination, she agreed. Despite the polarized (political) climate and even though a caretaker government is not supposed to make new policies. But she doesn't just want to mind the store. "I think we can still solve and tackle a few things," she said.

However, she does not want to be specific yet. "I have a few things in mind, but it's still too early to say anything about it," she said a few hours after being sworn in as Minister of Health in her ministry. These include medical ethics and curative treatment; topics that Dijkstra has dealt with intensively during her time as a D66 MP.

This is another reason why she did not have to hesitate for long to join the outgoing Cabinet. "I quickly got the feeling that I could do this for a limited period of time. Dijkstra did not wait for this, but she accepted the ministerial post not only out of a sense of duty, "but also because of the challenge".

She sees that a lot is happening in the healthcare sector, for example, the ever stronger and more holistic collaboration between different disciplines, she says enthusiastically. The healthcare system has agreed on this in the Integral Care Agreement (ICA). "I really think this is a very exciting development. It really is a change that needs to pick up speed." Together with the other two VWS ministers, Minister Conny Helder and State Secretary Maarten van Ooijen, she will continue to push this forward.

Next week, Dijkstra will have the first dossier on the table that is giving her a headache: pediatric heart surgery. Last month, one day after Kuipers' departure, the judge put a stop to his decision to centralize pediatric cardiac surgery in Rotterdam and Groningen. Dijkstra did not want to anticipate a reaction from VWS.

Dijkstra is in contact with Kuipers (by telephone) to hand over the files. "He is doing a very good job and that is also important to me," she said. She does not know in what capacity he left the department and is not commenting on his unexpected departure. She hopes for everyone's sake that Kuipers can "sort this out" soon.