WILLEMSTAD – Nearly six out of every ten patients visiting the Curaçao Medical Center (CMC) Emergency Department arrive on their own without being referred by a family doctor or the Huisartsenpost (HAP), according to hospital data for 2026.
CMC said approximately 59 percent of Emergency Department patients come directly to the hospital without a referral and without being brought in by ambulance following an accident.
The figures come as CMC faces growing pressure on its emergency services. During the first nine months of 2026, the hospital treated 18,236 emergency patients, an increase of nearly 10 percent compared with the same period last year and almost 15 percent compared with 2024.
In September, most Emergency Department visits were related to illnesses or existing medical conditions. Injuries and traffic accidents also contributed to demand for emergency care.
CMC acknowledged that not every emergency can be prevented. Sudden illnesses and accidents will continue to occur, but the hospital says some serious medical situations can be prevented or treated before they develop into emergencies.
The hospital is therefore urging residents to keep chronic conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure under control, take medication as prescribed and seek medical advice when symptoms first appear instead of waiting until their condition becomes more serious.
CMC also emphasized traffic safety as part of reducing preventable demand on emergency services.
The consequences of increasing emergency demand extend beyond patients arriving at the Emergency Department. When emergency cases require immediate hospitalization or surgery, beds, operating rooms and healthcare professionals must be redirected to those patients.
That can result in longer waits for emergency patients needing a bed and last-minute cancellations for patients who may already have waited a considerable period for planned surgery.
CMC said it understands the disappointment and difficulties these cancellations can cause patients and their families.
The hospital is calling on healthcare providers and the wider Curaçao community to work together on prevention, timely treatment, better management of chronic diseases, traffic safety and appropriate use of healthcare services.
“Keeping Curaçao healthy starts before someone arrives at the Emergency Department,” CMC said.
The hospital stressed that protecting its capacity is a shared responsibility so that urgent and specialized care remains available when patients genuinely need it.