Frequently asked questions
General
If you need a GP urgently, when your own GP’s surgery is closed (in the evening, at night, at the weekend or on public holidays), you can contact by telephone the out-of-hours doctors’ surgery in your own region. To determine whether you need to go to the doctor, you can use moetiknaardedokter.nl. By answering questions about your symptoms, you are immediately provided with advice. The telephone numbers of the out-of-hours doctors’ surgeries can be found on their own websites.
Appointments and waiting times
On working days, the out-of-hours doctors’ surgery is open from 17:00 to 08:00 the following day. At the weekend, the out-of-hours doctors’ surgery is open from Friday 17:00 to Monday morning 08:00. On public holidays, the out-of-hours doctors’ surgery is open from 08:00 to the following day 08:00.
The out-of-hours doctors’ surgery is only intended for emergency care. To determine how urgent your healthcare need is, the doctor’s assistant will ask you a number of questions. Your answers will determine how quickly and what healthcare you need. On the basis of these outcomes, an appointment can be planned so you do not need to wait for an unnecessarily long time at the out-of-hours doctors’ surgery.
No, you must go to your own GP. The out-of-hours doctors’ surgery is only intended for urgent health complaints which must be treated quickly. Out-of-hours doctors’ surgeries have insufficient capacity for healthcare needs which can wait until the normal opening hours of your own GP.
If you arrive around the time of your appointment at the out-of-hours doctors’ surgery, you will be helped almost immediately. However, it might be the case that you have to wait. This is usually caused by consultations running over time, or because there are acute help requests in between. The desk employee can often estimate how long the waiting time will be.
You must call the out-of-hours doctors’ surgery when you have an emergency health complaint, which you would normally call your own GP about when the surgery is open. You call the Emergency Care of the hospital for serious situations, whereby you need immediate help from a medical specialist.
Costs
If you are insured, you do not need to pay anything for your visit to the out-of-hours doctors’ surgery. The invoice will be sent to your healthcare insurance company. If you are not insured, then you pay the costs directly to the out-of-hours doctors’ surgery. Most out-of-hours doctors’ surgeries want you to pay this before your appointment with the doctor.
The charges for a visit to the out-of-hours doctors’ surgery are set nationally. The charges for the various consultations are described below:
- Telephone consultation €35.00
- Consultation at the out-of-hours doctors’ surgery €85.31
- Visit €127.97
Individual out-of-hours doctors’ surgeries may deviate from these amounts.
Drugs
Most surgeries have a so-called out-of-hours pharmacy. At these pharmacies, you can collect drugs which have been prescribed for you by the doctor at the out-of-hours doctors’ surgery.
In general, you have to go to your own GP if you want a repeat prescription. If it is a matter of urgency and you need the drugs immediately, then the doctor at the out-of-hours doctors’ surgery can prescribe a repeat prescription for you. You will then be given as many drugs as you need until the first surgery at your own GP.
Medical details
Your medical details are not immediately available at the out-of-hours doctors’ surgery. Your doctor and pharmacist may only share your medical details if you have given permission for this in advance. Other healthcare specialists can only request your details if they are needed for your treatment. You can give permission yourself via the website volgjezorg.nl/toestemming. In addition, most surgeries use an information system with which they can safely request a summary of your medical file.
Yes. Your own GP will be informed the next day that you attended the out-of-hours doctors’ surgery. The report of your visit to the out-of-hours doctors’ surgery will be sent to your GP so the GP can add this to your medical file.
Telephone conversations with the out-of-hours doctors’ surgery are generally recorded. Surgeries do this for various reasons:
- In order to improve the quality of the telephone contacts;
- If patients have a complaint, this can be used as a source of information;
- For training purposes.
Transport
No. You must arrange transport to the out-of-hours doctors’ surgery yourself. You could ask your neighbours or your family, or call a taxi.
How long will it take before the doctor can reach me with emergency transport?
If you have an urgent healthcare need so you cannot come to the out-of-hours doctors’ surgery, the doctor can be with you within fifteen minutes. The doctor will then drive to you in a visiting car with a blue siren.
If you have an urgent healthcare need so you cannot come to the out-of-hours doctors’ surgery, the doctor can be with you within fifteen minutes. The doctor will then drive to you in a visiting car with a blue siren.
General information regarding the doctors’ surgery
If you urgently need a GP in the evening, at night, at the weekend or on a bank holiday, you can contact the out of hours doctors’ surgery. This is sometimes called the emergency GP surgery. The out of hours doctors’ surgery is a collaboration between GPs in your area. Many out of hours doctors’ surgeries are open on weekdays from 5.00 in the afternoon to 8.00 the following morning. At weekends and on national public holidays they are usually open the whole day (24 hours).
With almost all out of hours doctors’ surgeries it is necessary to contact them first by telephone. If you come in without an appointment you might be refused or asked to come back later. When you ring the out of hours doctors’ surgery, a triagist (e.g. a receptionist) will answer your call. The triagist determines how urgent your case is and may give you an appointment for you to be seen. Even if you have an appointment, you may still have to wait. More urgent patients may have to be dealt with first.
The triagist determines the urgency of your case by asking you a number of questions. Based on your answers the triagist will decide how to help you further with your case. You may be helped in various ways:
- You are given self-help advice
- You are put in telephone contact with a doctor or a doctor will ring you back
- You are given an appointment to come into the out of hours doctors’ surgery
- A GP will visit you in your home
- You will be picked up in an ambulance
First go through the digital self-assessment of Moet Ik Naar De Dokter? (Do I Have to Go to the Doctor?) before you ring the out of hours doctors’ surgery. With the digital self-assessment you get immediate advice on whether or not you must contact the out of hours doctors’ surgery. You may in fact not have to come in. If you been in contact with the out of hours doctors’ surgery, the next day your own GP will be informed that you have had contact.
There is no need for you to contact the out of hours doctors’ surgery if:
- Your complaint is not urgent and it can wait until your own GP practice is open again
- You don’t have any time during the day to visit your own GP
- You would like a second opinion
If your medication has run out, you will normally obtain a repeat prescription from your own GP. If you urgently need new medication, you can also obtain a repeat prescription from the GP at the out of hours doctors’ surgery. The medication that will be prescribed to you will then be enough to last you until your own GP’s next surgery hours.
Is there a charge for visiting an out of hours doctors’ surgery?
There is a charge for visiting an out of hours doctors’ surgery. If you are insured, the cost will be reimbursed by your health insurance provider. At the out of hours doctors’ surgery, if you cannot show that you are insured, you will often have to pay for your treatment at the out of hours doctors’ surgery. You can still reclaim the amount from your health insurance provider later. This also applies to foreign tourists who are on holiday or visiting. The charges for a visit to the out of hours doctors’ surgery are set. You will find these charges on the website of the Nederlandse Zorgautoriteit (NZa, Dutch Health Authority).
