Dutch healthcare workers claim hundreds of colleagues have fake diplomas, no training
Hundreds of healthcare workers in the Netherlands report colleagues using falsified credentials to care for vulnerable patients, raising serious concerns about neglect and potential criminal activity, according to an investigation by RTL Nieuws. Workers described witnessing unqualified staff, often temporary or independent contractors filling staffing gaps, resorting to online videos to learn basic medical procedures like inserting catheters.
The investigation found that these incidents frequently occur during night shifts when staffing is stretched thin. Permanent staff members told RTL Nieuws that some temporary workers appeared more focused on earning quick money than providing proper patient care. Trade unions representing healthcare workers are demanding urgent action from employers to verify credentials and prevent unqualified individuals from accessing patients.
The ongoing labor shortage means freelance healthcare workers and independent contractors can clear up to 12,000 euros per month when working at various facilities without regard to their own well-being. They take double shifts, work with a short turnaround from overnight hours to daytime hours, and sometimes stay on for seven straight days with consequences like missing pages and falling asleep on the job.
In November, police told RTL Nieuws that the sky-high wage has caused an “alarming” increase in fraud among healthcare workers. That led to the survey of over 2,800 people, which was conducted with help from the FNV and NU’91 labor unions.
Some 643 employees said they were certain colleagues were working with false credentials, and 607 more said that was a high probability. The survey conducted by RTL Nieuws found that 17 percent know one of their colleagues has a falsified diploma, and another 19 percent suspect that to be the case.
“When inserting a catheter, the patient was in a lot of pain, I just saw blood from below,” said a nursing home healthcare worker about one worker who was found to be lacking in professional training.
About 10 percent know a colleague who has a job without the required listing in the BIG registry, while 16 percent suspect this possibility. About 9 percent know a colleague without the required good conduct certification from their background check, while an additional 18 percent believe this to be true.
“The higher-ups said that a manager left because he committed fraud. On LinkedIn, I saw that he simply works at another institution,” said one person who works with people with physical disabilities.
“Dangerous situations arise because of untrained staff,” said another worker providing care for people with disabilities. “A resident took a knife from the kitchen and wanted to stab another.”
“The numbers are alarmingly high and these are really the most vulnerable patients and clients,” concluded NU'91 chair Femke Merel van Kooten. “Clients who come into contact with these people cannot always defend themselves or say, ‘Hey, something is wrong.’”
One colleague spoke of a freelancer who locked the lower portion of a hoist in a position that was too high. “The client would then fall. I said, ‘What are you doing?’ That’s the first thing you learn.”
FNV union leader Saida Youssef could not comprehend why employers might not sufficiently screen their workers. “It is simply terrible that this is happening under our noses in 2024 and that we actually have no control over it,” she said late last year to the news outlet. It is not only dangerous for clients, but also for employees, she asserted. “You put them in very unpleasant situations.”
