Results of second-opinion research on Zuyderland
On April 23, 2024, the municipality of Heerlen received the message that from 2030 there will no longer be room in the hospital in Heerlen for emergency care, ICUs and a maternity center. This Health will then only be delivered in the hospital in Sittard-Geleen. The mayor and aldermen found this decision by Zuyderland insufficiently substantiated and not very objective and had independent and objective studies carried out. The results of these studies are known.
The most important themes on which the board found the substantiation lacking were the accessibility of the locations for residents of Parkstad and the financial substantiation. The finances were also decisive for the Zuyderland decision.
Results of independent research announced
In the summer of 2024, the board repeatedly asked Zuyderland for a more extensive substantiation of the decision, but did not receive it. In order to obtain this important information, the mayor and aldermen decided to have independent and objective research carried out into the consequences for the accessibility of the hospital and the financial substantiation of the Zuyderland decision. The results of these second opinion studies are now known.
In summary, the conclusion of both studies is:
- By car, it will take ALL residents of Parkstad on average twice as long to get to the hospital.
- Visiting by public transport is becoming complicated, time-consuming and/or virtually unaffordable for residents of Parkstad.
- Ambulance times remain within legal standards, but residents spend almost twice as long on the road for emergencies.
- Choosing the Heerlen location would cost Zuyderland 230 million euros more than the Sittard-Geleen location. Our research shows that this difference is at least 100 million lower.
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You can view the full research results: