International students have been struggling to navigate the Dutch healthcare system for years. Some, like Andra Buciu from Romania, are lucky enough to find someone that will help them. But what about the ones that don’t?
On a normal night out in December together with some of my friends, I was enjoying the music in one of the clubs in the city centre, when suddenly I fell while dancing. I was in some pain but thought nothing of it and went home.
It wasn’t until the next day when I woke up with massive pain and a swollen foot and realised that something was wrong. But what do you do as an international student that is not registered with a GP and does not speak Dutch?
Because of my work with the Groninger Studentbond (GSb), I am familiar with the Dutch healthcare system: no GP means it is a pain to navigate the healthcare system or get the right referrals. Also, where do you start? Who do you call?
What do you do if you’re not registered with a GP and does not speak Dutch?
In the midst of my despair, my Dutch board members told me to call the emergency room at the Martini Hospital and the UMCG and pray that one will help me. The first one told me they couldn’t help me if I didn’t have a GP, but the latter decided to see me after much begging.
This is a recurring theme for international students in Groningen. The moment they arrive in the city, the university tells them to register with a GP. However, the university never mentions how important a GP is for the access to healthcare.
If you are an international student that does not have a GP and you do not know the Dutch healthcare system or the language, you end up paying for your problems out of pocket. This is unacceptable, given that the university alone hosts around 27 percent international students that most likely do not know how to navigate the system.
But who should help them?
I was one of the lucky internationals that met a doctor that was willing to help. He gave me the business card for StudentArts and explained that if I register with them as a GP, they can immediately give me the referral needed for me not to pay for the procedures. However, if you do not have my luck of meeting such a doctor, you’ll just have to pray that the bill will not be too much.
I was one of the lucky internationals that met a doctor that was willing to help
That is why it is imperative that the university and municipality work on the information provision to international students. The marketing office of the Groningen municipality and province has a detailed guide on navigating the healthcare system for internationals with very useful links.
However, given that the university does not share or advertise this platform, international students do not really know about its existence and end up asking friends for help – to no avail usually.
And even if they do find the platform and register with a GP from their neighbourhoods, they end up on waiting lists for a long time – three years in my case.
Thus, we need the university to work on their communication, and the GP offices – other than StudentArts – to work on accepting more international students so that we do not continue the trend of international students not receiving the healthcare that they are owed.
Andra Buciu is a board member with the Groninger Studentenbond