During your time as student in the Netherlands, you may find yourself in the situation where you need medical care or professional support. A range of health care services are available in Rotterdam. Since your General Practitioner (GP) will be your first point of call in case of any health issue you may encounter, we strongly recommend you to register with a GP as soon as possible after your arrival in the Netherlands.
Registration with a GP guarantees you access to the medical care you need. If you need to see a specialist, you must first obtain a referral from your own doctor. If you go straight to the hospital, without a GP referral and without an appointment, you may end up paying an unnecessarily high bill and you may face long waiting times.
How to register?
You can search for a doctor in Rotterdam via this website. The site is in Duch, but by entering your postal code or 'Rotterdam' you can find your nearest doctor's practice. Next, you can contact the practice directly to ask how to register. The GP practice Jans Huisartsen is located close to our Woudestein campus and they have a lot of experience with - and facilities for - international students. The practice is currently open for registrations every last week of the month.
Insurance for international students
Please note that is very important – and mandatory - to take out appropriate health care insurance, to avoid paying for unforeseen medical costs yourself. We recommend arranging your insurance prior to arrival.
What kind of healthcare service are you looking for?
Schedule an appointment with your general practitioner (GP). For medical assistance, the usual practice in the Netherlands is for a patient to have an initial consultation with a general practitioner (Dutch: huisarts), before making an appointment with a specialist in hospital.
We strongly encourage you to register at a GP as soon as possible.
Please contact "Jans Huisartsen” to check if you can register there. If you haven’t succeeded in finding a GP and you are in need of medical caretaking, you can refer to one of the Urgent Care Centers (Dutch: Huisartsenposten) in Rotterdam. Do not use the emergency hotline (112) if there is no sign of a life threatening condition. Instead: use the phone number of the care center closest to your location and book an appointment.
Note: Although the GP practice International Health Centre Rotterdam does not allow for registration of students that are insured at AON, students with urgent medical conditions that are not registered at a GP (yet) are welcome for consultation and services regardless. Therefore, IHCR can be contacted as an Urgent Care facility alike the before mentioned ‘Huisartsenposten’.
In case you are dealing with non-urgent symptoms that you would like to talk about with a professional, an online consultation with a registered doctor via HelloDoc might answer your needs. To learn more about this service, visit the website and find out what’s in it for you! Remember though, this is a temporary solution and you should always start by registering at a regular GP.
The university psychologists aim to offer support to students who have study issues and psychological, social and/or emotional problems that are hindering their study progress.
If the university psychologists are unable to offer students the support they need, they will refer them to other support agencies.
The Student Wellbeing Platform also offers a dedicated page with resources to deal with mental wellbeing.
Appointments for the following recommended dentists (Dutch: tandarts) should be made in advance; it is usually only possible to pay with cash.
Tandartsenpraktijk Strevelsweg
Strevelsweg 121
Tel: 010 485 92 06
Before you can schedule an appointment, you need to register as a patient first. Please call 010-4859206 or fill out the contact form.
Tandzorg Kralingen
Voorschoterlaan 31a
Tel: 010 414 22 48
Before you can schedule an appointment, you need to register as a patient first. Please call 010-4859206 or fill out the contact form.
Most medications are only available on prescription. You will be given the prescription by your general practitioner and can collect your medication(s) at a pharmacy (Dutch: apotheek).
Chemists (Dutch: drogist) sell medications that do not require a prescription, such as aspirin and cough medicine. There is always a pharmacy open, even in the weekend. Every pharmacy posts a notice in its window showing which pharmacy is open in the evenings and weekends.
Most hospitals can help you at the casualty department (EHBO) without a reference note from a general practitioner. For the majority of other departments you are obliged to obtain a prescription (for example from a general practitioner).
You can get emergency help 24 hours a day. Ask for the EHBO-post (pronounce: a-ha-bae-o). If there is an emergency or a life-threatening situation, you can always call 112, the emergency number. They can assist you with, for example, police, firemen and doctors.
When you go to the hospital, always take your insurance papers with you.
Hospitals in Rotterdam
Central District |
Erasmus MC
|
Central/North District |
| Sint Franciscus Gasthuis Kleiweg 500 3045 PM Rotterdam Tel: 010 461 61 61 www.franciscus.nl |
East District |
| IJssellandziekenhuis Prins Constantijnweg 2 2906 ZC Capelle a/d IJssel Tel: 010 258 50 00 www.ysl.nl |
South District |
Maasstad Ziekenhuis Ikazia Ziekenhuis |
Physiotherapy is offered on campus by Physiotherapy Woudestein, a small-scale private practice on the Woudestein campus of Erasmus University Rotterdam. The practice offers physiotherapy and manual therapy.
Treatment
We first analyse your health problems during the intake interview and with this information we draw up your treatment plan. The actual treatment and/or guidance are given in subsequent appointments. We also pay attention to preventive care so as to avoid recurring complaints and if need be we offer aftercare to prevent reversion to former habits.
Treatment is by appointment only.
Whom do we treat?
The practice is open to all, whether you are a member of staff or a student. Anyone who has any association at all with the university can avail themselves of our services. People living in the vicinity are also welcome to use our practice.
Where?
The practice is located on Erasmus Plaza and is housed in Hatta building. The practice can be reached via the main entrance.
Opening hours
The practice is open from Monday till Friday and can be reached by telephone all week.
Fees
The cost of treatment is entirely or partially refunded by the insurance companies. The current fee for physiotherapy is around 45 euro per appointment and for manual therapy the fee is around 52,50 euro per appointment.
You must check to see whether you are insured for paramedical treatment. Since January 1st 2005 paramedical care comes under supplementary insurance. If you have no supplementary insurance you will have to pay the fee in cash yourself when you come for your appointment.
Referral note
No referral note from a doctor is required. However, in the case of chronic symptoms you will need a referral note.
More information
For more information about the practice go to our website www.fysiotherapiewoudestein.nl (Dutch).
Contact
Physiotherapist and manual therapist Dimitri Motz
Burgemeester Oudlaan 50
3062 PA Rotterdam
Tel. 010-4081874 / 06-54763441
E-mail: vragen@fysiotherapiewoudestein
Website: www.fysiotherapiewoudestein.nl
The Area Health Authority for Rotterdam (GGD) and its surroundings aims at promoting the health of the population. The GGD has a preventive as well as a caring mandate.
Most vaccinations can be obtained at the GGD (for instance vaccinations for people who plan to go to the tropics). Foreigners who come to the Netherlands do not usually have to be vaccinated at the GGD. However, people coming from high-risk areas (in non-western countries) have to do a test for tuberculosis at the GGD in order to get a residence permit.
Schiedamsedijk 95
3011 EN Rotterdam
(010) 433 99 66
info@ggd.rotterdam.nl
www.ggdrotterdamrijnmond.nl/ (in Dutch)
Together with all other higher education institutions in the Netherlands, Erasmus University Rotterdam has committed to the ‘National Prevention Agreement’ (Nationaal Preventieakkoord) 2018. In this agreement, the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport states that excessive and heavy alcohol consumption should become a less natural part of student life in the future.
The EUR has discussions and brainstorming sessions on excessive alcohol consumption with representatives of student organisations. This resulted into several agreements. Students who experience obstacles in their study progress due to personal circumstances can also get psychological and practical help at EUR.
You can read more on MyEUR on what the EUR does to reduce excessive alcohol consumption.
More information about healthcare services and providers in The Hague is listed on the website of the International Institute of Social Sciences (ISS).