Government helps bail out key hospital facing bankruptcy

Photo: Depositphotos.com
Photo: Depositphotos.com

The Dutch health ministry is to put €10m into a hospital in Noord-Brabant province to head off the threat of bankruptcy.

Health minister Bruno Bruins told MPs in a briefing that the investment will be spread up to 2022 and that Rabobank and health insurer VGZ are also involved in the bail-out.

The hospital, near Boxmeer, is part of the Pantein health group and covers 130,000 people.  Bankruptcy, the minister said, would mean that key care – including emergency services and maternity care – would not be available within a 45-minute drive.

The hospital’s problems have been caused by a real estate contract dating from 2008 which the hospital had little influence on, Bruins told MPs.

Last year, the government opted not to bail out two other hospitals which went bust. Both were owned by a private healthcare company.

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