WILLEMSTAD – Former Minister of Health, Environment and Nature Javier Silvania has raised concerns about the growing shortage of available hospital beds at Curaçao Medical Center (CMC), questioning whether the government has adequately implemented solutions that were developed during his tenure.
Silvania submitted a series of parliamentary questions to current Health Minister Tyron Boekhoudt after CMC announced on June 3 that 29 hospital beds are currently occupied by patients who have completed their medical treatment but cannot be discharged due to a lack of available spaces in nursing homes and other care facilities.
According to CMC, the prolonged occupation of beds by medically discharged patients is creating a structural bottleneck that prevents the hospital from admitting new patients and has forced the postponement of surgeries, further increasing waiting lists.
The former minister pointed to a plan developed in 2024 involving the nursing home Betesda. Under the proposal, Betesda would make 40 beds available for short-term care patients transferred from CMC after completing their hospital treatment.
Silvania explained that the initiative was designed to address two challenges simultaneously. First, it would free up hospital beds at CMC, allowing the hospital to continue treating new patients. Second, it would generate additional revenue for Betesda, which has been struggling financially for years.
According to Silvania, discussions involving Betesda, CMC, the Social Insurance Bank (SVB), and the Ministry of Health resulted in an agreement under which Betesda would receive an additional annual budget of approximately 1.5 million guilders to provide short-term care services.
The former minister now wants to know whether the current government implemented the project and, if so, why CMC continues to face serious bed shortages.
Among the questions submitted to Parliament, Silvania is asking how many meetings Minister Boekhoudt has held with healthcare institutions since taking office and what specific measures have been taken to address the ongoing hospital bed crisis.
The issue has gained urgency following CMC's warning that delayed patient transfers are affecting the entire healthcare system and causing unnecessary treatment delays for patients waiting for admission or surgery.
The Health Minister is expected to provide written responses to the questions in the coming weeks.