Dutch Midwives Earn Hazard Pay

When “youths” give birth in the Netherlands, life gets dangerous for midwives. As a result, the government is slipping a little bit extra into their pay packets as an incentive to venture out into the mean streets of Slotervaart and deliver all those immigrant babies.

According to Elsevier, as translated by our Flemish correspondent VH:

“Danger bonus” for midwives in troubled neighborhoods

Midwives will be paid extra money for their work in disadvantaged [=immigrant] areas, where they often have to deal with aggression and trouble associated with childbirth. Their fee will go up by 23%.

Minister of Health Ab Klink (CDA [Christian Democrats]) will deliver a letter about this to the Lower House.

Quality areas

Midwives often encounter misunderstanding and aggression by patients during their work in the so-called “quality areas” [euphemism for run-down and dangerous immigrant neighborhoods]. Sometimes they also incur additional costs, when midwives are stalked by junkies who are after their medicines.

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The Dutch Association for midwives, KNOV, is pleased with the higher fee. “It is not only about security,” says chairman Sjaak Toet in the AD. “We also have to pay out additional costs in poor neighborhoods because customers there take more time. More people live there who need help.”

Health care insurer

The higher fees will cost about €3.5 million and will be paid by health care insurers. It is expected this will not have an impact on the insurance premiums.

GPs already receive a higher fee for their work in the problem areas. From January 1 this will now also apply to midwives.