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Inspectorate critical of private clinics |
Parkkliniek meets responsible care standards
In early June 2003, the Health Care Inspectorate published a report entitled Insufficient Guarantees of Quality or Safety at Private Surgical Clinics. The report was based on a survey of twenty randomly selected clinics. Parkkliniek was not one of the clinics surveyed, and is in full compliance with the standards of responsible care.
Parkkliniek is under the constant supervision of the Health Care Inspectorate. In practice, this means undergoing a thorough annual inspection. The most recent inspection (November 2002) revealed no urgent problems at Parkkliniek. The inspection report did not criticise Parkkliniek in connection with any of the issues highlighted in Insufficient Guarantees….
Protected professionParkkliniek has a team of three plastic surgeons, who perform all our plastic surgical procedures. In the Netherlands, plastic surgery is what is known as a protected profession. This means that the title 'plastic surgeon' may only be used by people who meet very specific requirements. The plastic surgeons at Parkkliniek, S.H. Wu, L.T. Tan and R. Nio, are all trained in the Netherlands and all belong to the Netherlands Association for Plastic Surgery (NVPC), membership of which is restricted to suitably qualified plastic surgeons (see also www.nvpc.nl). All the plastic surgeons linked to Parkkliniek are on the MSRC register as well. This register is maintained by the Committee for the Registration of Medical Specialists, under the auspices of the Royal Netherlands Society for the Advancement of Medicine.
As well as working at Parkkliniek, our plastic surgeons maintain a practice at a general hospital. The clinic's medical team also includes two doctors, who work under the supervision of a plastic surgeon. All plastic surgery indications at Parkkliniek are made by plastic surgeons.
LiposculptureOne of the main problems identified in the recent report by the Health Care Inspectorate was that at many private clinics, general doctors were undertaking supplementary duties, for which they were not properly trained. This is not the case at Parkkliniek. In addition to the team of plastic surgeons, two doctors work at the clinic, both of whom specialise in liposculpture, have been thoroughly trained in liposuction by renowned plastic surgeons and have built up an outstanding reputation for the application of liposuction techniques. The two doctors perform more than five hundred liposuctions a year. They always work under the supervision of a plastic surgeon and undertake no duties or procedures for which they are not trained. All the doctors working at Parkkliniek are registered in accordance with the Individual Healthcare Professions Act.
Local anaestheticSurgical procedures at Parkkliniek are carried out using local anaesthetic and sedatives, rather than under general anaesthetic. The form of sedation used is a very low dose of a soporific drug. The use of local anaesthetic and sedatives means that patients are either fully conscious or sleeping lightly during the procedures, and are able to breathe spontaneously. Sedation is administered by a qualified anaesthetic nurse under the supervision of a plastic surgeon and a consultant anaesthetist. Monitoring is undertaken by an anaesthesia assistant.
The concerns expressed in Insufficient Guarantees… regarding infection risks do not apply in relation to Parkkliniek. We pursue a stringent preventive policy, in the context of which the clinic is under the continuous supervision of a hospital hygienist. Wherever indicated, clients are given antibiotics when treated in order to combat infection. All sterilisation processes at Parkkliniek are contracted out to a specialist firm on a strictly controlled basis. The contractor - Wimac Kliniekdiensten bv of Rotterdam - is ISO certified and employs various quality assurance techniques.
SupervisionParkkliniek welcomes the increased level of supervision for private clinics announced by the Health Care Inspectorate. Critical government supervision of medical care is extremely important. Constructive dialogue between clinic and supervisory authority can only enhance quality.
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Plastic surgery
