WILLEMSTAD - A significant majority of the general practitioners present at the meeting of the General Practitioners Association (CHV) on Monday evening agreed to the government's proposed "general practitioner service" (Huisartsenpost or HAP).
This HAP, also known as a general practitioner service, will not be located in the Curaçao Medical Center (CMC) but in the adjacent Sentro Médiko Otrobanda and will be operational from January 1. The HAP serves as a central point for patients in need of medical assistance outside regular office hours and on weekends.
The government's proposal entails that the government finances the HAP, and it falls entirely under the management of the Ministry of Health, Environment, and Nature (GMN).
In the end, the government decided to establish and organize the HAP, with general practitioners providing services for the HAP. Semper acknowledges that there was criticism from some physicians regarding this decision and questions about the medical-technical quality of the HAP for their patients.
"CHV has taken these questions into account in the meetings, and although not all questions have been answered, there is sufficient clarification, leading to 95 percent of the general practitioners approving the HAP as proposed by the government," Semper said.
However, the physicians have instructed the CHV management to continue discussions with the ministry to gain more involvement in the HAP and address urgent issues.
Semper is content that a decision has finally been made to open a HAP, and although it is not 100 percent what CHV had envisioned, dialogue with the government will continue to bring about changes in the quality of healthcare.