NOS: Crisis of trust and culture of fear in Erasmus MC intensive care unit

For years there has been a crisis of trust and a culture of fear in the intensive care unit of Erasmus Medical Centre. This emerges from an investigation by the NOS Journaal and current affairs programme Nieuwsuur. In a statement on its website, Erasmus MC says the hospital does not recognise the picture that has been outlined.

According to the two newsrooms, both part of national broadcaster NOS, several ICU staff members speak of a toxic working culture under the leadership of Diederik Gommers. They even fear possible effects on patient safety. Staff members have shared their concerns with the ombudsman and Executive Board of the Erasmus MC over the past five years, but say they have seen little improvement since then, they told NOS reporters. Documents show that the board has received three reports from staff members since 2021.

Whistleblower report

At the end of last year, the Executive Board received a whistleblower report from a specialist who has worked in the ICU for more than twenty years, NOS wrote. According to the specialist, the lack of dissent has consequences for the care of patients. Resident doctors wrote in internal surveys that there is ‘tension’ between the medical specialists, and that this affects medical discussions.

The Dutch Society for Intensive Care also visited the ICU last year and subsequently issued a ‘serious’ recommendation. The department should structurally evaluate the functioning of the team, ‘with explicit attention to workload, collaboration and the safety culture’, the professional association wrote.

Response from Erasmus MC

Erasmus MC does not recognise the picture outlined by the NOS Journaal and Nieuwsuur, but does acknowledge that there have been signals from staff members about the working culture. According to the hospital, the claim that patient safety in the ICU has been at risk is incorrect.

The NOS investigation is based on hundreds of internal emails and documents, a report from a whistleblower and reports to the inspectorate. For the investigation, they spoke to five former and 21 current employees out of a total of 466 staff members in the department.

The Health and Youth Care Inspectorate is currently conducting an investigation into the working culture and has held a conversation with the chair of the hospital’s Executive Board.