Police under fire for awarding detainee care contract to firm with troubled past
The Dutch National Police plan to outsource medical care for detainees to Arts en Zorg, a commercial healthcare company with a controversial past, has triggered widespread criticism, legal challenges, and concern from medical professionals, Trouw reports.
Arts en Zorg, selected in March 2025, is set to take over nationwide detainee medical care from 2026. The company, which operates 21 general practices mainly in the The Hague region, already provides such care in that area. Under the new contract, it will replace regional health services and independent providers currently responsible for detainees' medical needs across the country.
However, shortly after awarding the contract, police launched an urgent internal review into the company. The investigation began only after several losing bidders formally objected, warning that Arts en Zorg has a history of serious failings through its subsidiary GZA, which has handled healthcare for asylum seekers in Dutch reception centers for years.
GZA came under fire after failing to provide adequate general practitioner services during a surge in asylum seeker numbers. According to the Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA), GZA did not meet the “absolute prerequisite” of rapidly scaling care to meet fluctuating demand. Police were reportedly unaware of this history when awarding the new contract.
Arts en Zorg also secured the earlier asylum care tender by submitting what the COA described as an “abnormally low bid.” In the police tender, rival bidders say the company again submitted “extremely low” financial offers in several regions. The current system divides detainee care among ten police regions. Most are now served by municipal health services (GGD), while others rely on local medical providers.
Police detain about 200,000 individuals each year for periods ranging from a few hours to several days. Many require medical attention due to injuries from arrest, withdrawal symptoms from drug or alcohol addiction, or other health concerns.
Multiple current providers are allegedly now taking legal action against the police decision. They argue that Arts en Zorg lacks the capacity to deliver reliable care nationwide, especially amid a severe national shortage of trained medical personnel.
Critics point to a recent interview in Medisch Contact, where Paulus Lips, medical director at Arts en Zorg, admitted he did not yet know how the company would deliver detainee care at a national level.
A court filing seen by Trouw states that Arts en Zorg’s bid received an “insufficient” score in six police regions for service availability—an essential requirement. According to the plaintiffs, this alone should have disqualified the company from consideration. A court hearing originally scheduled for April 16 was postponed to June 13 at the request of the police.
The police have reportedly refused to explain why they did not examine Arts en Zorg’s prior record before awarding the contract. A spokesperson said only that objections from competing providers are being “carefully investigated,” adding that “these concerns are not limited to the company’s work with the COA.” Arts en Zorg declined to give a comment to Trouw, citing the ongoing legal proceedings.
The decision to outsource detainee care to a private company has sparked alarm within the medical community. The Forensic Medical Association warned that commercialization could lead to a decline in professional standards and a loss of forensic medical expertise. The national public health association GGD GHOR also expressed “serious concerns” about the removal of public oversight from detainee healthcare.
