Inspectorate places commercial house doctor chain under increased supervision

The Healthcare and Youth Inspectorate has placed the commercial general practitioner chain Co-Med under increased supervision. According to the Inspectorate, patients struggle to reach the 13 practices in the chain, leading to major risks for patient safety, NOS reports.

The Inspectorate has been receiving complaints about Co-Med since 2021. It investigated and found that not all Co-Med practices can be reached within the required 30 seconds in an emergency. The practices are also not always reachable by telephone during office hours for non-emergency calls. Not all practices have a GP available in the event of an emergency. And patients receive insufficient information about where to go during practice hours if they can’t reach the practice by phone.

Co-Med is now under stricter supervision. For six months, the Inspectorate will monitor the chain closely. The company must submit a monthly overview of how it arranged GP care at all 13 locations. If it fails to submit that overview or if the Inspectorate finds any shortcomings, Co-Med could be fined.

The Inspectorate imposed the measure on February 9 but could only publish it now because the company tried to fight the publication in court. The court ruled against Co-Med.