Many general practitioners reject new healthcare agreement
The constituency of the National Association of General Practitioners (LHV) has criticized several points of the proposed Integrated Healthcare Agreement. However, it remains unclear whether the LHV board will seriously consider constituents' concerns in its final decision, the NOS reports.
In a confidential poll seen by the NOS, around 3,000 members evaluated various parts of the care agreement on a scale of one to 10. They gave unusually low marks to several aspects of the agreement. For example, the general practitioners did not believe there was proper evidence to back the agreement's assurance that they would receive more time and money for patients.
"The board and the national members' meeting will of course take this poll into account in their final decision on Monday evening," a spokesperson from the LHV told the NOS. "And we will explain our choices to our members after the decision."
The Ministry of Public Health, Welfare and Sports has been in talks with healthcare parties to formulate the Integrated Healthcare Agreement. The agreement should be presented on Prinsjesdag, which falls on Sept. 20 this year. The agreement must be signed by all involved parties, which includes general practitioners, hospitals and other healthcare organizations, according to the NOS.
General practitioners are uneasy amid rumors that the LHV board is pressuring ambassadors who will help make the final decision to ignore the feedback offered by the constituency.
"It would put the ambassadors in a very difficult position because they would have to vote against the opinion of the members in a 'members' meeting,'" wrote 16 general practitioners in a letter to the board. "That is actually not compatible with the democratic process where the board refers to on the site."
The LHV board denies that it is putting pressure on ambassadors. "The board has made a neutral and objective analysis of the results of the member survey," a spokesperson told the NOS. "The board and members' meeting will make their own choice on Monday evening."
