Onze Lieve Vrouwe Gasthuis Olvg

This is our local hospital, so this is where we’ve gone for our general hospital needs. I’ve experienced good and bad things here.
The good:
— Their blood draw department, i.e. phlebotomists, i.e. the vampires are the best I’ve ever experienced anywhere on the planet. I have tricky veins that tend to jump around after they’ve been stabbed, so normally it will take a phlebotomist 5 – 6 tries at least before successfully getting a blood sample. The people here who do it all day every day with people coming through like on an assembly line are pros and stick me right the first or second time, every time.
— Their c-​section surgical team — once they decide you’re getting a c-​section, people rush into the room and work on undressing you and getting you ready for surgery as if you were a race car making a pit stop. There’s someone taking off your socks, someone else putting a hairnet on your head, someone else taking off your nail polish for the heart rate monitor to go on your finger, another person getting you into a surgical gown. It all happens all at once and you’re down to the operating room and getting an epidural within 10 minutes. During the surgery everyone was very professional and concentrated. I think they were a little weirded out with the fact that I didn’t talk at all during the surgery but I didn’t want to distract them and risk that one of them would leave their car keys inside me or something. The recovery was not nice, and they were kind of dicks about pain medication, but the surgery was quick and efficient.
— Their after hours emergency doctor, i.e. the huisartsenpost is pretty ok. They’re not great and not terrible. That’s good by Dutch standards, right?
— Their plastic surgery team — after being dicked around with for 6 months by their dermatology department, my husband finally had a huge growth removed from his hand, and the surgery was quick and successful and the growth never came back. Too bad it took 6 months of being blown off and getting ineffective treatments before he could get surgery. The growth was much smaller when he first started seeing them, and in general nobody seemed to care if it went away or not. Which leads me to:
The bad:
— Their obstetrics department — If I could go somewhere else I would. I’ve had various bad experiences, like one ultrasound tech telling me to ‘pick that up’ in a disgusted tone of voice while having an ultrasound, the ‘that’ referring to some extra belly fat I had at the bottom of my huge pregnancy bump that she wanted to move the ultrasound wand around. I was so stunned I didn’t know what to say. How incredibly rude!
I regularly had to wait 20 – 40 minutes in their waiting area, even though I arrived on time for my scheduled appointment. Also the wait for an ultrasound is a whole month, so by the time your huisarts says you can have an ultrasound at 3 months of pregnancy you need to wait another month before you can see your baby! That’s totally ridiculous.
Once it came time to have my baby, the delivery rooms were dark and old and shabby. The waiting room was tiny, dirty, cramped and windowless. They have since built a big remodeled birthing center, so that is probably better now.
But still I felt like I was forced into a c-​section and none of the doctors were sympathetic or empathetic, before during or after my pregnancy. I was terrified and nobody seemed to care. There was one awesome Irish nurse I had after my surgery recovery, but she was the only one.
— Their food selection — the tiny cafeteria on the ground floor is pretty limited. But food options in the hospital are even more limited. Boterham every day, for breakfast and lunch. Dinner was some mushy dutch potato mash or soup. It’s like they tried to make it good food but instead they just made it very Dutch, which made it kind of bad. Lord help you if you have a gluten allergy and have to be hospitalized here. You would starve.
— Their dermatology department — like I said, they always did the bare minimum for months until the problem became huge and unignorable. It’s like the doctors actively work against having to work.
— Their eye department — My husband had his eyes checked here, and then misplaced the eyeglasses prescription they gave him. He called and tried to get another copy and went through 3 weeks of hassle. They wouldn’t let him just come in and pick it up, and insisted on mailing it. Of course they never did, and every time he called they swore it should be in the post and should arrive soon. In the end he showed up in person again and insisted on picking it up right then and there, and they told him he couldn’t use it to get eyeglasses anyways since they don’t measure with that much precision, so it was all for naught and he had to have his eyes measured at an optician anyways. Well good to know! It’s not like going without eyeglasses is an urgent matter or anything. By all means, take your time eye department.
And I could go on, but I’m tired. You get the idea.

The only reason I’m giving this hospital 3 stars is because it’s a «learning hospital», I’m not sure why anyone would ever hand sick people out to interns, but this happens here. I’ve had a few annoying problems in here with interns and now I’m finally fed up and asked them to give me a specialist that won’t be going away the whole time.
It’s a big, super clean and organized place, I love how fast it is to get blood tests even though it’s super busy at times. Best times doing that are probably tuesday and weds, during the afternoon. If you go on tuesday after 6pm (the only day they are open late) make sure to make time for waiting alot, because alot of people do it then, after work.
If you don’t like needles or freak out when when take your blood, make sure to ask then for a experienced person or sometimes you might get a broken vein or it might hurt, because they are still learning…
They have a modern space for the x-​rays as well and I like that.
If you go to a doctor here and you have a small or mild complaint, it should be ok to be seen by an intern, if you have a disease or more serious condition, GET AN EXPERIENCED DOCTOR. I can’t stress that enough. They have good doctors there, so make sure to look on their website too. I know doctors need to learn before they graduate, but don’t leave your health in the hands of someone who is trying a bunch of different things to know the right answer. That is fine though if you don’t have a «big» problem as I said before. Also always make sure to get a second opinion, it’s covered by a lot of insurances and you won’t have to pay the second doctor’s out of your own pocket.

This is the main medical center in Oosterpark. It’s the hospital with all the bustling administrators telling people where to go and wait. It’s the place with the people in white coats who look important walking briskly away or just strolling by. It’s the place you go to get your health stuff checked out somewhat thoroughly. They honestly try to be nice and some really are.

My favorite hospital. The staff here is extremely friendly and knowledgeable. I can’t relate to the negative comments about this hospital… I’ve only had good experiences here and I’ve been coming here on a regular basis for the past 5 years.

While visiting Amsterdam in May 2014, I suffered a bicycle accident and knew something was very wrong with my left arm (considering the pain and lack of mobility). My partner got both bicycles back to the hotel and called a cab (which was recommended by the hotel to save cash). My adrenaline was wearing off by this time, making the cab ride more painful. We arrived at OLVG pretty quickly, and we walked right into the ER. We were pleasantly greeted by a hospital staff member who could see how much pain that I was in. She got me to see a nurse right away, and I was quickly brought into the ER.
While in the ER, I have to say that everyone who helped me was fantastic. The physicians and nurses were professional and very helpful. The ER doctor ordered several x-​rays and a CT scan of my left arm. She explained that it was badly broken and would need surgery. Meanwhile, they gave me plenty of pain medication to have these studies done and to handle my decision (i.e., to stay in Amsterdam longer and have surgery there, or to return to the states for treatment). Since we are not citizens of the Netherlands, we don’t have their national healthcare card; therefore, the costs involved with surgery would have been prohibitive. My partner and I decided to have the arm set in a hard cast in order to make the flight back to the states in about 1 more day.
To accommodate my request, the ER nursing staff set my arm in a cast. This was pretty tough given the injuries and my fear. But, the entire staff was so nice and cautious that I was able to sit through and have it done properly. In addition, they actually took the time to prepare a DVD copy of my x-​rays and CT scan to be brought back and shown to my surgeon in the US.
After about 5 hours in the ER, I was ready for discharge. I was educated by various staff members and was given full discharge instructions, including a clearance for the airlines (explaining that I was okay for the plane flight). I thanked the doctors, nurses and staff for their professionalism and taking care of me in such a fragile state. (It was fantastic that each person spoke English very well, considering that my Dutch was very limited.)
The cost for all of the tremendous care and time … 150 Euros (approx $ 205 at the time). I was so happy, especially given the quality and professionalism. And, in the US, all the ER treatment that I received (including radiology), if not covered by insurance, would have easily cost $ 3000!
In fact, 5 months later, after having surgery in the US hospital, follow-​up care, and physical therapy, I’m much better. The care for all of this in the US has cost me $ 6000 out of pocket (given my deductibles, copayments, and coinsurances); Empire BC/​BS has spent about $ 20,000! Just for your information.
My conclusion is that OLVG did a wonderful job. It’s a clean, well-​staffed, modern hospital which provided me with excellent care at a time when I was vulnerable and in very bad shape. Thank you so very much!

I mostly detest this hospital but there aren’t many choices in Amsterdam it seems.
For the most part the staff is rather friendly but the doctors just don’t seem to CARE, which is what a freaking doctor’s supposed to do. My last experience was especially awful. Something must have gone wrong during a routine procedure because I was barely able to stand up straight from pain for some 10 days. I called OLVG several times and they refused to see me, telling me to take Paracetamol.
To be fair, I keep hearing the same «just take Paracetamol» story from just about everyone who goes to Dutch hospitals. My current plan is to take up German because if I ever need proper health care I’ll have to do what a friend does: go across the border to Germany and actually be taken care of.
UPDATE: their incompetence is endless! Went in for an injury and they sent me for the wrong tests. Now they just can’t find time for the right tests for the next 2 weeks. Just great.
Make sure to schedule your injuries according to their «agenda,» and remember: learn German! I already started.
UPDATE: it just keeps getting worse and apparently there are no other hospitals in central Amsterdam. If you get injured you might want to take a couple weeks’ holiday and go to Germany — or anywhere in the EU — to be properly treated (if your health insurance co. doesn’t have contracts with Dutch providers your treatment is covered as it would be in the NL).
It’s scary that a place like this is allowed to care for people’s lives.

I had mix feelings with the services here. I have been here several times for so many different reasons. Now as far as OLVG, I like some of the hospital staff and some are just simply rude! I also like the way the medical insurance plans are set up in the Netherlands.
Con– Some of the doctors need to be in school longer before they perform any serious surgeries on anyone! I found out a lot of the doctors here are resident students. So if you have any major surgeries, then ask them will a resident student be performing surgery on you, and can you speak to them about their knowledge and track record of the amount of surgeries that they have perform. So you don’t get any bad surprises later like I did! I thought I was very clear I wanted a senior doctor to perform surgery on me, but clearly they disregarded my request, so now i have a damage nerve.
Also don’t be afraid to ask questions, so you don’t have any regrets later. I have no problems with asking a doctor or nurse questions about my health. I am firm believer in being my own health advocate. I have always had the best healthcare, so I have no problem with asking critical questions when it comes to my health or the type of services that a hospital provides.
Also keep in mind there is a big cultural difference with the medical system in the Netherlands compared to the states or maybe any other country, so ask a lot of questions! So you have a better understanding of how things work.
P. S. Also, always ask in the beginning can you speak with them in English, if you don’t speak Dutch fluently or at all. It is just called good manners. They hate when foreigners automatically start speaking English to them without asking. 99% of the time they will say yes, because Amsterdam is very much a strong bilingual city.
Here is a useful link on your rights as patient.