Dutch hospital association express support for a national fireworks ban
All the Dutch hospitals are behind the call from a large number of municipalities for a national fireworks ban, the Dutch Hospital Association (NVZ) wrote on their website. The hospitals said they feel a need to speak up as they saw way too many fireworks-related injuries this year.
Municipalities called for a national fireworks ban after many suffered significant damage to their property during New Year’s Eve. Many people were also injured due to fireworks, with one incident resulting in the death of a 14-year-old in Rotterdam.
"The fireworks tradition has an important dark side that is completely avoidable and has a lasting impact on the victims, often bystanders. It costs human lives and unnecessary healthcare money," the hospital association said.
Helen Mertens is the chair of the board of the Maastricht UMC+ and chairman of the NFU, the umbrella organization of the Dutch academic hospitals. She explained why the UMCs are speaking out. “As teaching hospitals, we provide care to anyone who needs care, regardless of the reason they contract an illness or injury, but our discomfort is growing about fireworks victims, victims that are preventable. Moreover, almost half of the victims are bystanders, many of whom are children.”
The number of injuries from fireworks dropped slightly, but the hospitals are more concerned about the severity of the injuries, the NVZ said. The hospital administrators added that they realize that a fireworks ban does not solve the problem of illegal fireworks and that enforcement is not an easy task.
“Firework injuries have a very major impact on the victims and their loved ones. In hospitals, healthcare providers see that this suffering leads to extra workload, medical costs and also to unsustainable pressure on the police. After all, healthcare has been under great pressure for years. We must do everything we can to meet the challenges of the rising demand for healthcare,” said Ad Melkert, the chairman of the NVZ.
Around 200 arrests were made throughout the country on New Year’s Eve. Yara Basta, president of the Dutch Association of Emergency Physicians, said that the number of patients was one and a half times higher than a normal night and added that many of these were treated for fireworks-related injuries.
