KRALENDIJK – Commissioner Nina den Heyer is absolutely not happy with the progress of the talks with the Netherlands regarding the continued existence of Bonlab.

The Commissioner of health care also accuses State Secretary Maarten Van Ooijen of contradicting himself when it concerns the discussion about Bonlab. “On November 15th. State Secretary Van Ooijen sent a letter to the House of Representatives in which the wrong perception is created that the Executive Council did not announce its position until October 2022. As you know, this process has been going on for some time and in November 2021 the Executive Council already made its point of view known to former Secretary of State Blokhuis and the Island Council again unanimously took a council decision that same month regarding the retention of 2 laboratories,” Den Heyer writes in a letter. to the Island Council.

Den Heyer also protests against the fact that the State Secretary refers to a report from 2016 when substantiating his claims about ‘inefficiencies’ in laboratory care. “Then Bonaire had 19,000 inhabitants and now almost 23,000”, says Den Heyer.

In addition, the deputy notes that Van Ooijen on the one hand states that no irreversible decisions have yet been made with regard to Bonlab, but at other times claims that it has.

Concentration

In her letter to local Parliament, Den Heyer once again warns against what she sees as too great a concentration at the Fundashon Mariadal. “In the current situation, the concentration of laboratory care (first and second line) will lead to scenes as recently became apparent with the pharmacies,” says Den Heyer. She points out, among other things, that at times queues of more than an hour and a half were the rule rather than the exception and that laboratory care at Fundashon Mariadal recently had to be suspended due to the heavy rainfall.

Den Heyer also states that the Executive Council absolutely does not want the scenes that took place at the pharmacies to occur if the laboratory care is concentrated at the Fundashon Mariadal hospital. “The Board would therefore like to see good cooperation between Bonlab and Fundashon Mariadal and no concentration so that the patient on the island again does not have to get the short end of the stick”.