good to know
Medical Disclaimer
Nice that you might be choosing us as your primary care physician. Please do read the medical disclaimer below so you know what we can and cannot do for you.
In brief
Key points at a glance.
Usual
GP practices in the Netherlands use a 15-minute working area around the practice, so in case of emergency we can be with you within 15 minutes.
Fonkelcare does things differently
We deviate from the national guideline for accessibility (the 15-minute travel time). We do this because we believe we can provide better care for you this way.
How is this workable?
We have employees who speak different languages. You drive a little longer for it, but the mutual understanding is so much higher so the quality of care is better.
Usual
Emergency accessibility.
GP practices in the Netherlands use a 15-minute working radius around the practice. Do you live or work outside a 15-minute radius of one of our locations? Then we cannot reach you in time in case of emergency. In urgent situations, please call our emergency line. We will then send an ambulance if necessary, so you can get to the emergency room as soon as possible.
Thus, if you register with us – and you live outside a 15-minute radius of one of our practices – please note that we will not be able to be with you within 15 minutes and that you have to explicitly agree to this. The choice is really up to you whether you want this. We will then register you as a “passerby.
How do we make this work
Together we will make it a success.
If you live within a 15-minute radius of the practice we will register you as a regular patient, if you live outside this radius we will register you as a passerby. Medically, it makes no difference, you will be well served in both cases. It is a different form of registration so that we can still help you properly.
We believe we can best take care of you if we understand each other as well as we can. Therefore, we do our best to hire employees who speak your language, but we cannot guarantee that.
In addition, the employee who speaks your language may not be there when you call for an appointment. After all, we too get sick one day and want to go on vacation. 😊 So it is not a guarantee that you can speak to someone in your own language.
Fonkelcare does things differently
Why can you register with us anyway?
Even if you have more than a 15-minute commute to one of our locations, you are welcome to enroll with us.
We saw a social problem in the Netherlands and are helping to solve it. The problem: international patients often cannot see a family doctor. Practices are full, and the language and cultural barrier means the quality of care is lower.
We commissioned a quality study which showed that by solving the language and cultural barrier, the quality of our care is better at a slightly longer distance than with these problems within a 15-minute radius. So we deviate from the 15-minute guideline with motivation and contribute to the solution!
We now employ staff who speak multiple languages (English, Polish, Romanian, Bulgarian and Spanish), which improves the quality of care. We also make sure we have enough space in our practices to accept new patients.
Because there are few general practices in the Netherlands that can handle multiple languages, the result is that the travel distance to Fonkelzorg is often longer than 15 minutes. Therefore, we choose to allow that. Of course, the quality of care always remains top of mind. Is the distance really too great? Then, unfortunately, it is not possible.
Also important
A medical intake
After registration, it is appreciated if we have a brief phone contact for a medical intake.
We don’t know you and your medical history (yet). That means that we can automatically help you less well than someone for whom we already know everything. In the Netherlands we often receive medical records forwarded from the previous general practitioner, but with patients from abroad that system does not exist.
Therefore, we try to call you for a medical intake with us. This way we get to know each other a little better and we can help you better if it is really necessary.