The Netherlands currently has four centers for pediatric heart surgery, spread over five locations (Rotterdam, Groningen, Utrecht and a shared center in Leiden and Amsterdam). This care will be concentrated at two locations. Outgoing healthcare minister Ernst Kuipers decided earlier this year that the centers for pediatric heart surgery in Rotterdam and Groningen will remain open. This means that the pediatric heart surgery department at the UMC Utrecht and the Center for Congenital Heart Defects Amsterdam – Leiden (CAHAL) must close. The minister wants to use a transition period of 2.5 years for this.
Future of pediatric heart surgery UMC Utrecht at stake in court
