Collaboration OTTO Health Care and St. Luke’s Medical Center

18 October 2022

Healthcare personnel from a renowned Philippine hospital are going to work in Dutch hospitals.

Via OTTO Health Care, the first Asian nurses will start soon in Dutch hospitals, including Haaglanden Medisch Centrum in Den Haag and Zuyderland Medisch Centrum in Limburg. These experienced and highly trained nurses are well prepared prior to their arrival to the Netherlands. In their home country they learn the Dutch language and culture for example. This makes them almost immediately deployable in the Dutch healthcare.

The workload in Dutch healthcare is enormous. Dutch healthcare professionals have been working extremely hard to ensure that Dutch patients receive the care we deserve. This is at their own expense. In addition, the waiting lists in healthcare are only threatening to increase due to the staff shortage. With all its consequences.
Responsible policymakers and (healthcare) administrators recognize the need to intervene in order to prevent a healthcare crisis. Various solutions should contribute to this, including the deployment of well-trained and experienced foreign healthcare professionals.

The highly regarded and renowned hospital St. Luke's Medical Center in Manila (Philippines) will make nurses available to work in Dutch healthcare. To this end, a partnership agreement was signed on Tuesday 18 October with OTTO Health Care.

In addition to their work at St. Luke's, Philippine healthcare professionals will prepare for their temporary arrival in the Netherlands. They receive Dutch lessons for two years, so that they can master the language and culture. After completing their training, they will sign a contract for a maximum of five years with a Dutch hospital. After their stay in the Netherlands they will return to St. Luke's. OTTO Health Care provides guidance during this entire period.

Frank van Gool - founder OTTO Health Care::

“We are proud of this partnership agreement. St. Luke's is internationally recognized as a top hospital with high quality care and professionals. The fact that these healthcare professionals will relieve the pressure on Dutch healthcare is good for patients and healthcare professionals in the Netherlands, but also for them. We are pleased that we as OTTO can contribute to sustainable, future-proof healthcare in the Netherlands.”

The deployment of foreign healthcare personnel is still viewed with caution in the Netherlands, but in neighboring countries such as Switzerland, Germany or the United Kingdom this has been common practice for years. In fact, there is currently even more work being done on this practice, because people are so satisfied with the results. OTTO Health Care explicitly strives for a win-win-win situation. This is possible because of the good guidance.

It is good for the concerned healthcare professional who can earn more money abroad and thus help his or her family in the home country and develop personally. It is therefore also good for the country of origin. In the Philippines, the government encourages healthcare professionals to work abroad temporarily, because it promotes the prosperity and well-being of their own country.

And finally the Dutch healthcare. Experienced and Dutch-speaking foreign healthcare professionals can ease the workload in healthcare and shorten waiting lists. This is good for Dutch patients and healthcare professionals. It is up to all of us to embrace and encourage all solutions that contribute to the prevention of a crisis. A healthcare crisis is the last thing the Netherlands needs.

18 October 2022

Healthcare personnel from a renowned Philippine hospital are going to work in Dutch hospitals.

Frank van Gool - founder OTTO Health Care::

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