Care nearby

The GC A is a national health centre that works out of around 40 locations that are close to asylum seeker centres. At these GC A locations, asylum seekers can talk with a family doctor, a practice-nurse, a GGZ counsellor or a doctor's assistant (a qualified doctor's assistant that gives support to the whole practice).

Available 24/7

The family doctor practices located in asylum seeker centres are 'small practices' which do not always have staff present every day. Each location has a certain number of consultation hours per week, and the number of hours is not dependent on the size of the location. In addition, asylum seekers can call the Practiceline 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This is a centrally-organised medical call centre with a family doctor and qualified doctor's assistants working in it. They are often able to speak many languages.The asylum seeker can ask a (medical) question here, or make an appointment for a family doctor's practice, or for a different care provider. The Practiceline staff can arrange for a taxi for asylum seekers, when necessary.

Organisation of the care
The care provided for asylum seekers is the same, as much as possible, as regular family doctor care. This means that asylum seekers also go to a family doctor first, that there are office hours, and that during evenings and weekends they are able to go to an afterhours care location (after 5.00 pm).

Every asylum seeker is registered with the GC A. GC A hires family doctors to deliver care to asylum seekers.  The family doctor's practice is located in the reception centre that the asylum seeker lives in, or nearby in the neighbourhood. An asylum seeker should call the GC A Practiceline to make an appointment with a family doctor or a specialised practice-nurse. The Practiceline is a phone line that connects to a medical call centre where asylum seekers with medical questions are helped by doctor's assistants that work closely with family doctors, practice-nurses and GGZ counsellors.

The family doctor works closely together with a practice-nurse or 'PraktijkVerpleegKundige' in Dutch (PVK).   The practice-nurse has office hours at the reception centre the asylum seeker is living at, or nearby. The PVK give self-care advice, does some care duties or refers you to a family doctor. The family doctor and the PVK work together with a doctor's assistant.

With asylum seekers, in particular, there are frequently many pyschological issues.  That is why the GC A has offered, since 2010, primary mental healthcare (geestelijke gezondheidszorg, or GGZ).  That is why we developed a new position: the GGZ counsellor. The GGZ counsellors have office hours at the GC A locations. There is also a brochure available about the GGZ counsellors  (dutch).

A special target group

Because asylum seekers are a vulnerable target group, the CG A offers more than only the regular care. It is not only asylum seekers that have psychosocial issues, skin diseases, tropical infectious diseases, and symptoms caused by a lack of care (for example, oral hygiene, poorly cared for wounds or broken bones that have been set inproperly). That is why we offer individual care coordination, coaching and counselling. A medical intake is actively offered when an asylum seeker comes to live in the Asylum Seekers Centre for the first time. This is to determine right away if care is necessary and if so, that the treatment can be started as soon as possible.

Curative care

GC A is responsible for providing access to 'curative care', for example: family doctors, dentists, hospitals, and so forth.

Public healthcare

The public healthcare is aimed at prevention, screening and treatment of TB, and is a duty of the municipalities and their Municipal Health Services (GGDs).

Read the factsheet "Healthcare for Asylum seekers (only duth version available)" for more information about who is responsible for which kind of care.