The Dutch Second Chamber of Parlia­ment recently voiced con­cern about the slow nature and high cost of medical referrals in the Caribbean part of the Kingdom, in­cluding Curacao. During a debate in the Health, Welfare and Sports Com­mittee, several parties in­cluding GroenLinks-PvdA emphasised the need for a faster and more efficient process.

Member Elke Slagt­Tichelman (GroenLinks­PvdA) highlighted that patients often have to travel unnecessarily long distances for treatment, citing examples of people spending up to three days travelling to Colombia for medical care.

A major point of discus­sion during the debate was the financial burden on Curacao, especially for un­insured patients from oth­er Caribbean territories. Slagt-Tichelman noted that Curacao spends around seven million Netherlands Antillean guilders annu­ally on treating uninsured patients and called for more solidarity from the Netherlands in addressing this issue.

State Secretary of Public Health Vincent Karremans (VVD) expressed open­ness to considering finan­cial support requests, but stressed that the Nether­lands is already purchasing healthcare services in Cu­racao. He also announced plans to visit the islands in February, to speak with residents about their expe­riences with the healthcare system and explore poten­tial improvements.

The Daily Herald.