WILLEMSTAD - Several specialists at Curaçao Medical Center (CMC) have sent a clear message to the management, suggesting they are considering resigning. The uncertainty surrounding the law called "Landsverordening normering topinkomens" (LNT) for top personnel at Curaçao Medical Center, which has been in effect since December of last year, is causing problems for the hospital's functioning.
The government has so far ignored these warnings. The CMC directive addressed a letter to the government (Minister of Public Health and Minister of Finance, Javier Silvania) at the beginning of May, in which it highlighted the negative consequences. In letters dated February 13 and April 14, the specialist association also drew the government's attention to the negative implications of implementing the LNT on specialists in CMC's service and insisted on a short-term solution.
The CMC directive also acknowledged that different conversations had taken place. And on March 20, during a Council of Ministers meeting, where it was made known that a legal department advice committee (WJZ) supports the association's position, stating that the LNT is not intended for specialists in CMC's service. However, the Court made a different decision.
According to an amendment incorporated into the law by Parliament, after three years, salaries of employees and advisors in all sectors of the public or semi-public sector that exceed the standard set out in the LNT will begin to decrease. Thus, CMC sent a letter on February 7, which already highlighted the significant concerns about the potential impact of the LNT on the group of medical specialists in CMC's service and on the continuity and accessibility of desired care by these specialists, which is currently not feasible.
The letter was sent from the standpoint that CMC also falls under the LNT, but from the directive's perspective, this does not align.
The CMC management has been analyzing for a month how many of their specialists in service will be affected by the arrangement and court decision. Meanwhile, there have been no new applications as a candidate specialist has shown disinterest in continuing in the service of the national medical care institute.
During a press conference in May at Curaçao Medical Center, organized by the specialist physicians' association LVMPiLC, they indicated that the law to cap salaries can deduct between 30 to 60% of their income. It's a well-known fact that specialist physicians are poorly paid worldwide, considering the number of years they invest in their studies only to enter hospital service and gain the necessary years of experience. The situation becomes even more critical when the specialist chooses to work at a medical center rather than going private.
During the press conference, the specialist physicians insisted that their problem is not the cap itself, but the addition of new specialists, which becomes impossible under the payment cap. If the salary cap is maintained, according to specialist Michel Berry, they can lose between 30 to 60%. This affects around 97 specialists whose incomes are compromised. On March 11, their association met with the acting Minister of Public Health, Javier Silvania, to address their situation.