Spring seems to be really here, with the opportunity to have a drink at a terrace in the sun. Despite strong concerns of healthcare providers, curfew and some other restrictions have been lifted.
Vaccination is finally ramping up, though most internationals are in the age group that is still waiting for its turn. Promise is that they too will be vaccinated by the start of summer.
This newsletter reports progress on a number of projects that aim to improve healthcare access for internationals:
Healthcare for labour migrants must improve
The Netherlands harbours over 650,000 labour migrants. These mostly originate from Eastern Europe and practice economically vital professions in logistics, industry, agriculture and horticulture.
This group of internationals was hit hard during the first Covid wave last year. Due to their working and living conditions, the number of infections among them increased at an alarming rate. In response to this......Article continues
Symposium healthcare for migrant workers
On June 16th, 16.00 - 18.00, H4i organises an online symposium. At the symposium participants will share know-how and experiences in the provision of healthcare to labour migrants, as well as stumbling blocks encountered and solutions found.
There will be presentations from different organisations and regions. The program will be announced in the beginning of May. Participants from healthcare providers, governmental organisations, knowledge institutions, employers, health insurance providers, etc. are most welcome.
Are you interested to participate? Let us know here.
Promising results GPinfo
In September 2020, GPinfo.nl, an English version of Dutch Thuisarts.nl was launched. Thuisarts provides information about health, disease and treatment that is consulted 5 mln times monthly by the general public and GP's.
GPinfo.nl was started as a pilot by the Dutch College of GP’s (NHG) in collaboration with Healthcare for internationals (H4i.nl). This pilot offered about 35 medical and non-medical topics in English.
Majority finds information reliable and relevant
The results of this pilot show that GPinfo.nl supports both internationals and GPs. Almost 80% of internationals found the information reliable and relevant and more than 70% of GPs surveyed.........Article continues
Update: Employing Internationals in Dutch healthcare
Over the past year we have learned how much our healthcare system is dependent on a few critical resources. We always took for granted that when we got ill, there would be professionals, medication and equipment to cure us.
Scarcity of medical personnel has been a challenge since long before the current crisis, as many internationals have learned who were not able to register with a GP.
Early last year Healthcare for internationals (H4i) started a project........Article continues
Developing a mental health provider network
More than 50% of internationals of different backgrounds and languages, face frequent mental challenges, that they attribute mostly to the strains of moving to and settling in another country. (Mental health survey H4i, 2019). Covid-19, for sure, has not improved this situation.
H4i, a nonprofit network, has engaged in dialogues with internationals to better understand causes and discuss potential solutions to prevent or alleviate these mental challenges.
Many of the participants were international professionals providing various forms of support to internationals. Here the idea was born to set up a provider network. Are you interested to ....... Article continues
Rabobank extends sponsoring of H4i
Since the beginning of 2020, Rabobank has been sponsoring H4i’s activities. We are happy to report that the bank has now decided to extend its sponsorship in 2021.
Rabobank offers specific financial services to internationals. Rabobank is active throughout the entire healthcare chain and invests knowledge, network and investments into the transformation of healthcare in the Netherlands, in order to preserve its unique accessibility, quality and affordability.
Read more about Rabobank and why H4i has sponsors.
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