This is how the Dutch healthcare system works

In the Netherlands, with non-urgent health complaints, you should always see your general practitioner first. This is the case if you are pregnant, need medical advice, or experience psychological problems such as sleep problems, anxiety and depressive thoughts.

For example, if you have a cold, you don't have to go to the doctor right away. You can get medicine at the pharmacy or drugstore. If the cold does not go away, you can make an appointment with your general practitioner.

Before you can make an appointment with a general practitioner, you first need to register with a general practitioner in your area. If you don't know how to get to a general practitioner, ask your contact person at

If you are registered with a general practitioner, you can make an appointment. You call the doctor and then make an appointment via the assistant. You discuss the issue with the doctor during the consultation hour. The general practitioner can refer you to the hospital or to other specialist care.

This Independer website makes it easy to find a general practitioner in your area.

If you have dental complaints, you can go to the dentist. Even if you have no complaints, you can go to the dentist for a check-up. Most Dutch people go to the dentist for check-ups twice a year. Just like a general practitioner, you first need to register with a dentist.

Dental costs are not covered in the basic health insurance coverage. You can take out supplementary health insurance for this. If you don't have any, you have to pay all the costs for the dentist yourself.

Most dental costs for children up to 18 years of age are often covered by health insurance.

If you have a

A population screening is a medical examination for large groups of people. The goal is to detect diseases early. Treatment is then often less severe and there is a greater chance of getting better. It also allows us to prevent diseases before people develop symptoms.

There are 3 population screenings for cancer in the Netherlands. The examinations are offered by the government. As soon as you reach the age you will receive a letter. Participation is free and voluntary:

• Bowel cancer: everyone aged 55 to 75 receives an invitation every 2 years for the population screening for bowel cancer. You will first receive a letter in which you can read information about the population screening. Three weeks later you will receive the invitation for the screening. The invitation is in a purple envelope.

  • View a video here in which Steffie explains the population screening for colon cancer.

    You can watch the video in Dutch, English, Turkish, Arabic, Ukrainian and Polish.

• Cervical cancer: you will receive an invitation for this screening if you are a woman between the ages of 30 and 60. You can expect the letter around your 30th, 35th, 40th, 50th and 60th birthday.

  • View a video here in which Steffie explains the population screening for cervical cancer.

    You can watch the video in Dutch, English, Turkish, Arabic, Ukrainian, Polish, Somali, Tigrinya and Farsi.

• Breast cancer: As a woman, you will receive an invitation to this examination when the mobile examination centre is in your area. A mobile examination centre is a mobile bus or trailer, which is temporarily set up in different locations. You will receive the first invitation when you are between 49 and 52 years of age. This depends on the route and schedule of the examination centre. Until the year you turn 76, you will receive an invitation every 2 years.

  • View a video here in which Steffie explains the population screening for breast cancer.

    You can watch the video in Dutch, English, Turkish, Arabic, Ukrainian and Polish.

Would you like to know more about the population screenings? Then check out this website where everything about population screening is easily explained.

For people at increased medical risk, the

The flu jab

Some people can get very ill from the virus that causes flu. Examples include people over 60 years old and people with heart disease, lung disease, kidney disease or diabetes. The GP invites these people to have the flu jab. So you must be registered with a GP.

The corona vaccine

For some people, COVID-19 is an extra high risk. The RIVM sends them an invitation for the corona vaccine. These are people over 60 years old, people at high medical risk and healthcare workers.

The Dutch Vaccination Programme protects children against

Babies receive their first vaccinations in the first year of life. After that, several vaccinations follow at set times. In this overview of the Dutch Vaccination Programme, you can see when your child will be vaccinated.

If the general practitioner's practice is closed, but your medical emergency cannot wait until the next day or after the weekend, call the general practitioner's clinic in your area. At the general practitioner's clinic, people are helped in the evening and on weekends, when the general practitioner is free.

During the phone call, an employee from the general practitioner's clinic will tell you whether you can come by or whether you would be better off making an appointment with your general practitioner. The general practitioner's clinic can also refer you to the accident and emergency department of a hospital.

Please note: always contact your general practitioner's clinic before going to accident and emergency - except in the case of a life-threatening situation. Then call 112 for an ambulance.

This page tells you how to make use of an official interpreter when you have an appointment with a doctor.

If you or someone close to you is in a life-threatening situation, call 112. You will get an emergency operator on the phone. Explain the situation and answer the operator's questions.

The emergency centre can send an ambulance. The ambulance can take you or the person you are calling for to the hospital. The ambulance's doctors can also provide immediate medical assistance.

If the emergency centre does not send an ambulance, you will be told where you can go. For example, to the general practitioner's practice nearby. You will have to make your own transportation arrangements.