Dutch Armed Forces fervently recruiting military doctors, nurses for war time
Defense is urgently looking for dozens of doctors and nurses to join the Dutch Armed Forces, either as professional soldiers or reservists. The Ministry is preparing for eventual war in NATO territory and needs these medical professionals to care for wounded soldiers during transport to the Netherlands. The military is already recruiting at 14 major hospitals, Colonel-pilot Saskia Meerhoff told AD.
The Dutch army needs at least 12 intensivists - doctors who work in intensive care units (ICU) - and “dozens” of extra ICU nurses, Meerhoff said. “We need to expand our capacity with medical personnel who can accompany seriously wounded people from A to B,” she told the newspaper. “The Netherlands must be able to transport wounded people back to a hospital in our country.”
Defense already has surgical teams consisting of surgeons, anaesthesiologists, and nurses who join Dutch soldiers when they are deployed on missions. For the transport of wounded soldiers, the Netherlands has always relied on other countries like Germany or the United Kingdom. “Now we have to be able to do that ourselves.” The Dutch teams will transfer Dutch soldiers, but also soldiers from other NATO countries.
Meerhof is already visiting the 14 Dutch hospitals that work with Defense, trying to convince intensivists and ICU nurses to join the army. They can join as full-time soldiers or as reservists. If they choose the second option, they will follow an eight-week training course but can continue to work at the hospital. If necessary, Defense can call them up to work as military care providers. Meerhoff wants the new ICU teams to be trained and deployable by 2028.
The Dutch Armed Forces are already struggling with a shortage of ICU nurses. The army should have 84 on staff, but only has 41. That excluded the dozens of nurses needed for the transport teams. There is a shortage of ICU nurses in the Netherlands as a whole, so recruiting in this category is a challenge, Meerhof acknowledged. “That is our most urgent category.”
