The AZ West hospital in Veurne is urgently looking for a pediatrician and is using drastic measures, the Krant van West-Vlaanderen wrote on Friday. The director, Lieven Vermeulen, confirms: “who can give us a good tip can receive a reward of 15,000 euros“, he told Belga.
The hospital has been looking for a new pediatrician for several years now. “We recently learned that one of our four pediatricians has to stop for health reasons. That’s why we are doing everything we can”adds the director. “The sustainability of our pediatric service and our maternity is threatened.“For Lieven Vermeulen, the shortage of pediatricians has several causes.
Extensive research
“First of all, the authorities limit the number of medical admissions but this number is calculated strictly and does not take into account part-timers or departures. Then, pediatrics is not the best paid branch of medicine. So most candidates choose another specialization or work in large hospitals where the on-call service can be divided between eight or 10 colleagues.
The hospital spares no effort to find the right candidate and offers 15,000 euros to anyone who can guide him in his research. AZ West is currently looking for candidates even outside the Belgian borders, as far as Ukraine. “But candidates outside Europe must have their diploma recognized and this is also regularly a problem.”