Toespraak van minister Schippers bij Professional Qualifications Safe in Motion

Toespraak | 28-06-2016

Ladies and gentlemen,

TV series are fiction. Unfortunately, doctors behaving badly are not. And the consequences for patients can be severe. Sometimes even lethal.

What strikes me every time:

In nearly all cases of medical scandals the quotes in the news are:

We all knew there was something going on.

We all noticed behavioral changes.

We all suspected something.

Everybody knew something, suspected something … yet nobody felt free or safe enough to report it. Leaving patients at risk. Denying a doctor to learn from the mistakes he or she made. And taking away the possibility to improve healthcare altogether.

Everybody loses.

Ladies and gentlemen,

In the whole of the EU a countless number of professionals are working in healthcare. Men and women who want the best for their patients. From the bottom of their hearts. They spent years on education. Their work is rewarding. They make a difference in the lives of many people. Yet, the hours are long and the pressure is high. As are our expectations. Of course, making mistakes is only human. We should do all we can to prevent them. However, when does making mistakes turn into malfunctioning, or even crime?

An example from my own country. A neurologist. Brilliant doctor. He had a car accident. Leaving him in severe pain. Painkillers helped and he continued to practice medicine. However, his behavior changed. Colleagues noticed. But didn't feel free to confront the doctor with his brilliant reputation.

It turned out he knowingly misdiagnosed some of his patients; told them they had Alzheimer's or multiple sclerosis. Can you imagine the impact on the personal lives of these patients and their families? Patients said goodbye to friends and family. Quit their jobs. One of his patients even took her own life.

It took a long time before the neurologist was exposed.

Only much later he turned out to be addicted to prescription sedatives at the time of some of his false diagnoses. And he was diagnosed with a narcissistic personality disorder.

Not a doctor you’d want at your bedside.

He wasn’t allowed to work in the Netherlands anymore. He left the country. Unfortunately he took up practice in Germany. Endangering German patients. With terrible consequences.

Not what you’d call good PR for Dutch Healthcare. So why bring up this particular Dutch case?

Because we can learn from it.

Despite good education. Despite high quality healthcare there will be healthcare professionals who slip.

It is crucial we share our information about them. It is crucial we open up. Learn from each other and improve national systems.

I strongly believe we need to create an environment in which healthcare professionals feel free to talk about their successes AND their mistakes. As well as those of others.

Free to exchange their observations; the signals, or the signs, the behavioral changes early on. Not to judge, nor to convict, but to prevent human mistakes from becoming crimes. To improve care for all patients and to improve it together. An environment in which professionals are striving for the best possible care together.

An open environment, not only in our hospitals, also in our countries and between our countries. As member states we need to share our information on healthcare professionals performing badly. It is not easy, we all have our own cultures, our own taboos, our regulatory bodies dealing with health issues and errors.

Yet, we do have something in common: We want our patients to be save. With the acceptance of each other’s diplomas, with more and more healthcare professionals migrating within the EU, sharing information is more crucial than ever. On malpractice too.

Ladies and gentlemen, The European alert mechanism which we have set up is an important step forward. I am grateful to see a number of member states are sharing information. Within only half a year we received about 3750 alerts from 12 member states. 9 people about whom we received an alert were practicing in the Netherlands. As a result they were restricted, and patients were safeguarded.

This is promising, yet not enough. We need to step it up for the safety of our patients. I want to ask you: if we accept each other’s diplomas, why don’t we accept each other’s sanctions and restrictions? I am grateful that you are all here today, to talk about ways to protect our patients, to open up, to share our experiences, learn from each other’s successes and mistakes. Together we can improve healthcare for all European patients.

Let’s get to work!