\u00a0GP and Street Doctor, Rotterdam; Netherlands<\/strong><\/em><\/p> Michelle van Tongerloo is a general practitioner and street doctor in Rotterdam. She links She works as a GP in IJsselmonde, a neighbourhood in Rotterdam South with widespread An important theme in her work is the cycle of poverty and limited opportunities. Van \u201cWhat I do isn\u2019t out of defiance, but always in the best interest of my patients.\u201d<\/p> What they ask for is often simple: a decent income, a good education, and a proper home. But support in achieving that repeatedly turns out to be too complicated for care and welfare Market forces in healthcare<\/p> The system she speaks out against is partly the result of a society that does not accept Up close, Michelle van Tongerloo sees the far-reaching consequences of rising demand for Van Tongerloo also advocates for a different approach to patients. Treatment starts with As a journalist, Van Tongerloo publishes in outlets such as De Correspondent, Vrij Van Tongerloo speaks with passion and conviction. Her strength lies in her ability to make \u00a0<\/p> \u00a0<\/p> <\/p> \u00a0GP and Street Doctor, Rotterdam; NetherlandsMichelle van Tongerloo is a general practitioner and street doctor in Rotterdam. She linksmajor social issues to the raw reality of her consulting room.She works as a GP in IJsselmonde, a neighbourhood in Rotterdam South with widespreadpoverty. She is also an independent street doctor at the Pauluskerk, where she provides […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1558","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-keynote"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/internationalforum.bmj.com\/oslo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1558","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/internationalforum.bmj.com\/oslo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/internationalforum.bmj.com\/oslo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/internationalforum.bmj.com\/oslo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/32"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/internationalforum.bmj.com\/oslo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1558"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/internationalforum.bmj.com\/oslo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1558\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/internationalforum.bmj.com\/oslo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1558"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/internationalforum.bmj.com\/oslo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1558"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/internationalforum.bmj.com\/oslo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1558"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
major social issues to the raw reality of her consulting room.<\/p>
poverty. She is also an independent street doctor at the Pauluskerk, where she provides care
to the most vulnerable people \u2013 often homeless, addicted, or undocumented. She jots down what she experiences during her consultations on the backs of prescription
slips, to later work out into articles. In doing so, she connects large societal issues with the
stark reality she encounters day to day. When she started as a street doctor, she mostly saw
people without valid residence papers. Over the years, that has changed radically. First came
the labour migrants who keep a significant part of our economy running. There is no social
safety net for them when they lose their jobs and often their housing as well. She
increasingly sees Rotterdam residents who are homeless and uninsured. In the beginning,
these were mostly very vulnerable people with behavioural or addiction problems who could
no longer find a place in mental health care or sheltered housing. Now she sees more and
more ordinary people, often young, with nothing major going on, who suddenly become
homeless due to a few setbacks.<\/p>
Tongerloo sees how vulnerable children become vulnerable parents who in turn raise
vulnerable children \u2013 the consequences of living under one unsafe roof. Many illnesses are
caused by poverty, stress, and an unhealthy lifestyle. This is not new knowledge, yet we are
still too late when these children, overweight, with behavioural issues and decayed teeth,
show up at the GP. She sees like no one else how care systems can fail \u2013 while early and
effective intervention can make a world of difference.<\/p>
organisations. Because these organisations are supply-driven, they often can\u2019t devise
solutions for something as simple as children staying home because of transport issues and
therefore not attending school.<\/p>
mistakes or failures. With rules and protocols, organisations try to protect themselves against
criticism of their actions.<\/p>
care combined with market forces and decentralisation. As a GP, she plugs the gaps for
patients who actually need help from mental health services, youth care, hospitals, or nursing
homes. Waiting lists are long everywhere, so patients return to her. After all, the GP is their
first point of contact.<\/p>
listening: not the illness, but the patient\u2019s story should be central. She describes, succinctly
but powerfully, what makes it difficult for a European Dutch person to integrate into this part
of the kingdom: \u201cAs an individual you are subordinate to a community that doesn\u2019t
necessarily welcome outsiders and often makes no distinction between work and private life.\u201d<\/p>
Nederland, NRC, and Trouw. She writes about the healthcare system, but also about the
difficult and murky space in which she operates as a street doctor. She has also written about ethical questions around a \u201ccompleted life\u201d and about the complex and unequal relationship
between Sint Eustatius and the European Netherlands.<\/p>
major systemic issues and societal problems personal, explaining them through patient
stories. This makes her work deeply moving.<\/p>
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