KRALENDIJK – State Secretary Maarten van Ooijen on Wednesday morning received a long list of complaints from patients who feel they have been improperly treated by the hospital in Bonaire and the medical specialists. 

The complaints include issues such as the assessment of the need for medical evacuation, the prescription of generic medications instead of specific brand-name medications, and conflicting treatment plans between, for example, the doctor in Colombia and the doctor stationed in Bonaire. 

According to the complainants, several people have died as a result of incorrect assessments, or they have experienced harm such as severe scarring due to what the complainants believe to be surgical errors. 

Complaints Officer

There are also complaints about the complaints officer, whom the complainants believe is not sufficiently independent. “The complaints officer is paid by Fundashon Mariadal, so how can they be independent?” the complainants ask. 

According to the complaining parties, an independent committee should investigate the complaints or distressing cases. 

At the end of the day, Van Ooijen briefly addressed the long list of complaints. “There are things we can address in the short term, but at the same time, we need more time to review the list and the complaints more thoroughly,” said the state secretary.