Rijnstate HIV treatment centre awarded HKZ quality certificate
In the Netherlands, HIV treatment and care can only be provided by one of the 26 government-approved Dutch hospitals. Over the next three years, all these treatment centres will undergo a quality assessment. Rijnstate in Arnhem is the sixth hospital in the Netherlands to receive the appropriate certification issued by HKZ (Harmonisatie Kwaliteitsbeoordeling in de Zorgsector; Harmonisation of Quality in the Healthcare Sector). This nationally-recognized quality mark for HIV care is very important since the Minister of Health, Welfare and Sport has ruled that HIV treatment can only take place in HKZ-certified centres.
The HKZ quality requirements have been drawn up by representatives of HIV-treating physicians, nurses, patients and health insurers. SHM’s work in monitoring patients with HIV in care also contributes to the certification process.
In its assessment of Rijnstate, the audit committee praised the time and attention dedicated to patients, the investment in quality of care, for example through the presence of specialist nurses, and the focus on collaboration with internal and external healthcare partners such as the Public Health Service and addiction care services.
Gerjanne ter Beest, HIV and infectious diseases nurse specialist at Rijnstate says: “We are happy that the Minister of Health, Welfare and Sport understands how important quality of HIV care is. The certificate highlights the way we work, and shows that we meet guidelines and follow protocols and that we strive to improve.”
HIV care at Rijnstate
HIV patients have been treated in Arnhem since 1989, making Arnhem one of the first HIV treatment centres in the Netherlands. In Arnhem, HIV care is provided through a separate outpatients’ clinic: the HIV clinic. The HIV clinic is part of the Infectious Diseases specialism within the department of Internal Medicine. The number of HIV patients in the Netherlands continues to grow each year; in Rijnstate about 60 new patients are registered each year.
Read the press release (in Dutch) here