WILLEMSTAD – A plan to transfer patients who no longer require hospital treatment from the Curaçao Medical Center (CMC) to Betesda was never implemented. Health Minister Tyron Boekhoudt says the new management of Betesda/SVC did not agree with the conditions previously negotiated with the government.
The plan originated under former Health Minister Javier Silvania and was intended to address a persistent problem at CMC: patients who are medically ready for discharge but cannot leave because they still require care and no suitable placement is available elsewhere.
In June, Silvania informed the Curaçao Parliament that Betesda would make 40 beds available for this form of short-term care. The Social Insurance Bank (SVB) was expected to provide approximately XCG 1.5 million annually in additional funding.
The arrangement was designed to achieve two goals simultaneously: free up urgently needed beds at CMC and provide Betesda with additional income at a time when the institution was facing serious financial difficulties.
The urgency became clear in early June, when CMC reported that 29 hospital beds were occupied by patients whose medical treatment had already been completed but who could not be discharged because suitable follow-up care was unavailable. The situation limited the hospital's ability to admit new patients and contributed to the postponement of surgeries.
Boekhoudt has now told Parliament, in response to questions from Silvania, that the Betesda arrangement never became operational. In his response, the minister refers to 42 beds rather than the 40 previously mentioned by Silvania.
A ministerial decree was required to establish the arrangement, but that decree was never completed. The situation changed further after new management took office at Betesda/SVC and declined to accept the conditions previously discussed between the institution and the government.
As a result, the SVB has not paid Betesda for the proposed short-term care because the necessary legal framework was never finalized.
Betesda is also currently undergoing renovations and, according to Boekhoudt, is therefore unable to accommodate additional patients.
The government has instead turned to other healthcare institutions. At Boekhoudt's request, the SVB purchased 35 additional care beds: 25 at Hamiëd, five at Birgen di Rosario and five at Kas Hugenholtz.
Boekhoudt said he has held several discussions with healthcare institutions, the SVB and CMC since taking office to improve the flow of patients through the healthcare system.
The additional beds are intended to prevent patients who no longer require hospital treatment from unnecessarily occupying scarce capacity at CMC.