Organogram of the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport: Directorate-General for Curative Care

Departments and programmes

• Curative Care Department (CZ)
• Pharmaceuticals and Medical Technology Department (GMT)
• Patient and Health Systems Department (PZo)
• Medical Isotopes Programme Department (PMI)
• COVID-19 Care Programme Department (PDCZ)

Curative Care Department (CZ)

Director: Birgitta Westgren

Tasks

The department is concerned with developing, implementing and evaluating policy concerning the curative care sector, which includes hospitals, mental health services (especially short-term interventions), and primary care providers (GPs and allied health professionals). The department’s goal is to promote general quality of life. It is responsible for the design and functioning of the healthcare system, notably the relationships between care providers and patients and between care providers and health insurers.

Pharmaceuticals and Medical Technology Department (GMT)

Director: Karla van Rooijen

Tasks

Medicines, medical devices, blood products, human tissues and organs, and radiotherapy, for instance, are all essential to healthcare, and the government has a special responsibility in this regard. Patients should be guaranteed that the care they receive is effective and efficient. This also means guaranteeing the safety and quality of healthcare products. The task of GMT is:

To ensure access to and effective use of sound, safe medical products that meet today's requirements, at a socially acceptable cost.

GMT works at the interface between powerful commercial and public interests, and scientific advances. Stakeholders at this interface are the public, health insurers, healthcare providers, doctors, pharmacists, manufacturers, wholesalers, scientists, national and international organisations, advisory bodies and implementing bodies, and Dutch and European policymakers. Clearly, where so many players are involved, careful consideration needs to be given to all interests.

Patient and Health Systems Department (PZo)

Director: Fred Krapels

Tasks

What does a person need to stay healthy? Or to get better? And if getting better is no longer an option, what can help someone have the best possible quality of life, with as much independence as possible? These are crucial questions which every patient, in consultation with their attending care professionals, will answer differently. Meeting these individual needs is what tailored care is all about. Tailored care informs the ministry’s mission and the work of PZo. The department considers every type of care that a patient or client may encounter.

Medical Isotopes Programme Department (PMI)

Deputy Director-General: Jan van den Heuvel
Programme director: Marieke van Dok
Deputy Programme director: Arie Ippel

Tasks

• Medical isotopes are radioactive materials that are mainly used to diagnose cardiovascular disease, cancer, bone disease and neurological disease. Increasingly, they are also used to treat various types of cancer.
• Medical isotopes are made in a nuclear reactor or a cyclotron. The nuclear reactor in Petten makes enough semi-finished products to supply 70% of the EU market, but it is a very old facility. 
• The programme department aims to ensure security of supply of medical isotopes and to strengthen the knowledge infrastructure on nuclear health, ultimately resulting in new therapies for cancer and other diseases. This also means addressing the issue of replacing the existing, largely outdated European production facilities and exploring new production technologies (cyclotrons). A modern production facility for medical isotopes in Europe will be key in ensuring security of supply. 
• PALLAS has advanced plans to build such a facility in the Netherlands. The programme department liaises closely with all the ministries involved as well as subnational authorities and the relevant regulatory bodies to advance and support the political decision-making process in The Hague.

COVID-19 Care Programme Department (PDCZ)

Director: Ralf Krooshof

Tasks

PDCZ is tasked with developing and implementing policy to ensure the continuity of care of patients with COVID-19 across the entire sector (from medical treatment to long-term care, in intramural and extramural settings), while at the same time guaranteeing access to regular healthcare.

The programme focuses on COVID-19-related care, but it always works closely and coordinates policy with the departments responsible for regular healthcare. PDCZ also coordinates the Ministry’s role in the reception of refugees from Ukraine.