Complaints Procedure

The Boerhaave Clinic strives to provide you with the best possible treatment, care, and information. It is important to us that you are satisfied with our care and services.

However, things may not always go as you expected. This could give rise to a complaint. It is important for both you and us that you let us know what you are dissatisfied with. Only then can we work with you to find a solution. After all, the clinic can learn from your complaint. You can rest assured that we take your complaint seriously and will handle it with care.

About Complaints

Submitting and addressing a complaint is a patient right, as established in the Healthcare Quality, Complaints, and Disputes Act (Wkkgz).

By a ‘complaint’ we mean an expression of dissatisfaction. This may relate to your treatment and care, both medical and nursing, but also to the way you were treated by a member of staff. In addition, you can, for example, submit a complaint about organisational matters.
We advise you to discuss your complaint in the first instance with the person your complaint relates to. This gives the other person the opportunity to acknowledge any mistakes or shortcomings. Misunderstandings can be put right.

To have your complaint dealt with, we ask you to fill in our complaints form. You can find our complaints form here.

It may be that your complaint has not been resolved to your satisfaction with the person concerned. It may also happen that you cannot or do not want to discuss your problem or complaint directly with the person(s) concerned. You can submit your complaint verbally or in writing to the complaints officer of our clinic. You can do this by emailing klacht@boerhaave.nl.

Process

If you are unable to resolve the matter with the person involved, or if you would prefer to file your complaint through an official channel, you find more information below.

You can submit your complaint verbally or in writing to our complaints officer, who will guide you through the process and mediate where necessary.

If this does not lead to a resolution, your complaint will be formally submitted to management, with the support of an independent complaints committee.

If you disagree with the decision, you may turn to an external body, such as the Healthcare Disputes Committee or the Regional Disciplinary Board.

Complaints Officer

Assistance and Mediation by the Complaints Officer

When you file a complaint, please indicate what you hope to achieve with your complaint and how you would like it to be handled. Our complaints officer will ensure that you receive the best possible support throughout the process. If you wish, the complaints officer can, for example, arrange a meeting between you and the person you have filed a complaint against, during which the complaints officer may be present as an impartial mediator.

Confidentiality

The complaints officer is bound by a duty of confidentiality regarding everything you share. Your complaint will only be disclosed to others—such as the clinic’s management—with your consent. Naturally, your personal data will be handled with the utmost care.

Further Handling of Your Complaint

If the complaints officer’s mediation has not led to the desired outcome and you wish to formally pursue your complaint, the complaints officer will officially forward your complaint to the clinic’s management. The clinic’s management strives to issue a decision on the complaint within six weeks of receiving it. In exceptional cases, we may extend this period by four weeks. You will, of course, be notified of this in a timely manner.

Review by the Complaints Committee

In order to assess the complaint, the clinic’s management generally seeks advice from the complaints committee. The complaints committee was established by the clinic’s management. The complaints committee is tasked with reaching a decision on the complaint submitted. It does this by gathering all relevant information and reviewing it.

The complaints committee is independent and consists of representatives from various disciplines within the clinic and a practicing physician from the region. The independent chairperson is a lawyer and is not affiliated with the clinic. The committee is bound by a duty of confidentiality. It will handle your complaint with the utmost care and impartiality.

Depending on the nature of the complaint, the committee will determine the best way to investigate it. If necessary, a hearing will be held to which both parties will be invited.

In principle, the complaints committee will issue a ruling on the merits of the complaint within 4 to 6 weeks. This period may be extended in consultation with the complainant.

The Complaints Committee’s decision is not binding. The decision regarding the validity of the complaint cannot be appealed to the Complaints Committee.

The committee will send the decision to you, to the person you complained about, and to the clinic’s management. In addition, it may advise the clinic’s management to take measures to prevent a recurrence.

Here you will find the complaints procedure for the complaints committee.

Ruling by the clinic’s management

The clinic’s management will consider the complaints committee’s ruling and inform you whether it endorses the committee’s ruling, what decisions it has made regarding and in response to the complaint, and within what timeframe the agreed-upon measures will be implemented.

We adhere to the statutory six-week period, extendable once by four weeks, to reach a (preliminary) decision on your complaint in the manner described above. This period may be extended in consultation with the complainant. Within one year of filing a complaint, the complainant has the option to appeal to the Healthcare Disputes Committee.

Healthcare Dispute Resolution Board
P.O. Box 90600
2509 LP The Hague
Phone: 070-3105380

Not satisfied?

If you disagree with the decision of the complaints officer or the clinic’s management, you may also submit your complaint to one of the following independent bodies. They will conduct their own investigation and render a decision based on legal standards.

Regional Disciplinary Board

Secretariat: Courthouse
P.O. Box 84500
1080 BN Amsterdam
Phone: 020 – 5412776

Health Care Inspectorate

P.O. Box 20584
1001 NN Amsterdam
Phone: 020 – 5800100

Civil Court

Criminal Court

For questions and advice, please contact the following agency:
Healthcare complaints for patients
Phone: 0900 – 2437070