Ambulances in Amsterdam were severely understaffed last summer; fears for public safety

The Ambulance service in Amsterdam worked with huge shortages last summer, NH Nieuws reported. This led to the service driving a lot less than was officially agreed. There were significant fears for the safety of Amsterdammers as a result.

A total of 644 ambulances per week were supposed to be driving in the Amsterdam-Amstelland and Zaanstreek-Waterland. But only 620 available ambulances were used. There are around 600 people employed at Ambulance Amsterdam.

NH Nieuws obtained documents that showed Ambulance Amsterdam’s director, Marleen van de Kerkhof, sending a letter to the staff criticizing their readiness. Many employees responded to the letter in anger. They felt it was a crisis situation and that the director was avoiding this fact.

Van de Kerkhof told NH Nieuws that various factors came together last summer to create the situation, including periods of leave being requested too late, a shortage of temporary workers, and incorrect scheduling of students who were not yet fully deployable. “It was never as bad as this year,” said Van de Kerkhof.

The SP’s parliamentary group leader, Remine Alberts, who had previously announced that she wanted a debate about this subject, was firm in her criticism. “The SP has already sounded the alarm about understaffing in the past. The management of the ambulance service must not only express the concerns but also deliver. That starts with listening to the employees. With the busy year 2025 approaching, this is a great concern for us.”

Ambulance Amsterdam has now taken measures to prevent a reoccurrence of this. Stricter rules will be enforced when it comes to taking a leave of absence, and a capacity planner has been appointed to monitor the readiness closely. External workers have also already been penciled in for the summer of 2025.

Next year is expected to be a very busy year. Events like Pride, Sail, and the celebration of 750 years of Amsterdam will require extra attention to Ambulance Amsterdam’s capacity.