Because of a shortage of company physicians, sick employees of Radboud University and the Radboudumc need to wait longer for an appointment. The issue should be resolved at the start of 2023.

The team of company physicians at the Occupational Health & Safety and Environmental Service (AMD), which supports Radboud University and the Radboudumc when it comes to labour health and safety, is understaffed. It concerns at least 1 FTE. This was stated by the AMD in their year report. These last few months, the service has been busy recruiting, so they can return to full capacity in 2023.

Due to the shortage, the waiting time for an appointment with a company physician has increased from two to three weeks. ‘That is obviously not ideal’, says university spokesperson Martijn Gerritsen. ‘Because of a shortage of company physicians in the Netherlands, many organisations encounter this problem. As a temporary solution to deal with shortages, external freelancers are hired. But that does not provide a structural solution. In the case of emergencies, by the way, the intention of company physicians is to shorten the waiting time as much as possible.’

The AMD works for Radboud University and the Radboudumc but is not a part of the organisation. They are however situated on university grounds.

Recruitment and retention

Since the report was published, the AMD has managed to attract new people, but there are still some open vacancies due to structural shortages on the labour market, says Radboudumc spokesperson Maxim Linders. ‘As an academic hospital with an internal health service, we see that we attract lateral entrants and physicians in training, but have difficulty attracting experienced company physicians. We are continuously committed to the recruitment and retention of company physicians.’

Linders expects to return to full capacity at the start of 2023, after which the waiting times for sick employees should return to the usual two weeks. The involved parties also point out the other services the AMD offers. Martijn Gerritsen: ‘In many cases, employees can visit the company social worker in less than those two weeks. For example, in the case of private topics such as loss and grieving, or informal care, and work-related topics such as questions of balance, mild stress complaints, or high work pressure.’

Medical support worker

Besides company social workers, there are also other medical support workers, such as the health and safety nurse, who can take over certain tasks from the company physician.

The figures for 2021 show less sick leave among university employees, presumably due to a lot of working from home. ‘Sick leave generally decreased at numerous organisations during covid, presumably due to more room for control for employees. That was a positive development’, said Martijn Gerritsen. The sick leave figures appear to be rising again in 2022. Gerritsen: ‘Obviously, that has our attention and concern.’

Translated by Jan Scholten.