Huisartsenpraktijk Swijgman

I recently moved here from the US and found this practice close to my new home. This office is very clean and efficient, and all of the staff are helpful and willing to speak English. I was able to easily make an appointment by phone and get the prescriptions I needed with a quick initial meeting with Dr. Swijgman, who is very efficient and helpful as well. They have an online patient portal, too, so in the future I can send questions/photos/prescription requests even more easily through their messaging system.

Dokter Swijgman heeft mij perfect geadviseerd en doorverwezen na een consult. Voelde me erg op mijn gemak om een gevoelig onderwerp te bespreken! Hele fijne huisarts!

Luisteren naar de patiënt, adequate doorverwijzing na een diagnose. Er werkt een goed team met verschillende specialisaties.

Hele fijne huisartsenpraktijk, er wordt echt naar je geluisterd, met je mee gedacht en tijd voor je gemaakt !

Today, I finally got an appointment and they do their job well and efficiently. It is just so hard to get an appointment.

I feel increasingly underserved by this GP, not taken care of or taken seriously. This in combination with a perceived lack of compassion is just not where I feel in good hands. They do have a well structured online scheduling process, but despite that, lately you wait 2 weeks for an appointment. All digital optimization does not help if there is no one available for a supporting vis-a-vis consultation.

Ik kwam zonder afspraak deze huisartsenprakijk binnenvallen, waar ik niet stond ingeschreven, vanwege een snee aan mijn hand. De bloeding kreeg ik namelijk niet zelf gestelpt en ik dacht dat de wond misschien hechtingen vereiste. Ondanks dat ze er, begrijpelijkerwijze, niet blij mee waren dat ik zomaar zonder afspraak kwam aankakken, hebben ze mij meteen goed geholpen, voorzien van medisch advies en de situatie geregeld met de verzekering. Ze hadden me niet hoeven helpen en me weg kunnen sturen, maar dat hebben ze niet gedaan en dat kan ik erg waarderen!

So let's lay down a few disclaimer before you read this review. First, I come from Canada, so I don't know how much of my poor experience at this doctor's office was due to cultural differences in medical practices, meaning how much you'll find those kind of practices everywhere else in the Netherlands and how much of it is actually unique to this place. Secondly, Ik spreek en begrijp Nederlands (wordt beter elke dag), maar wanner het is belangrijk liever ik Engels te gebruiken. So secondly, the language barrier, I felt the person I saw lacked confidence and came out as generaly incompetent but I don't know how much, if any, of that was due to the langage barrier because we were using English to communicate. But as a disclaimer for the disclaimer, the message on the answering machine at this doctor's office is both in English and Dutch, so it kind of sends a message that they're able to practice their craft in both languages.

And now for the review, I went to this doctor because it was recommended by a general practician I know around Maastricht nd unfortunately the experience was a really bad one. First I didn't see doctor Swijgman, but somebody else who might or might not be a doctor from what I could deduce from her general demeanor and level of competence. She might've been an assistant or a student or any other kind of people you find working in a doctor's office in the Netherlands, I don't know. So what happened? She let me explain my symptoms and I mentioned all the details I thought were relevant but then she didn't ask me any question, she barely examined me, she brushed it off and looked like she wanted to get on with it when I complained about some stomach pain after she examined me. She didn't give any details on here thoughts about what it could be. She finished by saying she could prescribe me medicine for two weeks and that I could come back after that, all the while not explaining at all what she thought I had, if it was severe or not, or any other details that might've been useful. I had to ask a lot of question to get the smallest amount of info, which was basically that she thought I had nothing, but it was hard to get a definite answer from her and she prescribed me medication but imply I didn't really need it when I asked for precisions. I am overall very disappointed by this doctor. I think that if you advertise yourself as Doctor Swijgman's office and you call to book an appointment with doctor Swijgman, the least is that you get an appointment with doctor Swijgman. Then, I understand fully that we are in the Netherlands and that not everybody should and will talk English, and that is why I'm learning Dutch. But when as a business you have an English option on your answering machine, like I said, you're advertising yourself as bilingual and I expect that the professional I am going to see will have a strong enough level of both langages to practice their craft properly. For a doctor, that could mean asking relevant questions about the symptoms and your general health history, giving direction during physical examination, explaining their hypothesis on the potential sickness, giving advice, tips and a rational for the use of medication or behavior in order to get better. None of which I got at this place. For all these reasons I would unfortunately recommend avoiding this doctor. I felt like I would've been better served getting an appointment with "Doctor Google" and that's saying something since I'm very critical of the general level of information one can find on the web and since I have a lot respect for the craft and experience of real practician.

I had something stuck very deep under the whole vertical half of my nail (ie down until the end of the nail) after a cooking accident, and the treatment was loosely disinfecting the finger & putting a plaster over it. when I called again that day after finding out that I couldn't go to another GP, I was told to soak my nail into warm water and hope for it to get out by the practice. I went to the emergency room in the hospital that day where they had to remove the whole left half of my nail to remove what was stuck beneath it. Apart from me enduring severe pain the whole time, the practice provided a VERY incompetent service. Would absolutely not recommend. Deserves 0/5 stars.

Went for a consultation with proof of medical record and history of the problem at hand. Was given a trainee doctor who said to book another appointment if it happens again and that they needs time to research what the problem could be. Next day went to a GP in Belgium and was referred for a scan after a thorough examination almost immediately. Would not recommend this practice if you are seeking a medical solution as it seems they tend to not take you seriously and/or want you to make numerous appointments to witness your symptoms progress in order to identify/believe the problem.

Doctors prescribed too weak antibiotics for my tonsillitis twice in a row, saying it was just a "bad luck" the pills didn't work the first time. They didn't want to give me an appointment after finishing the second box saying there is nothing more to be done. I ended up on the ER during my holidays with quinsy (peritonsillar abscess) that was caused by this poor treatment. I was sick for over a month in total. Wouldn't recommend this practice to my worst enemy.

As an international student I cannot recommend this doctor. The receptionists are extremely unfriendly and will charge you for almost any phone call. They are always late for any appointment you make. Medical bills are an issue here. They do not accept the European health insurance card and refuse to send any bills in english. Every email they send to you is in dutch, although they know that I do not speak dutch. Because the medical bills are not in english I cannot get reimbursed in my national country. Furthermore, they do not accept Visa as payment.

I've been at the practice a few times and I've had enough. The fact that I come from Eastern Europe meant that the doctor would tell me each time that "Here it does not work like in your country" and dismiss any request for checks. For example I have been fighting anemia for a long time and asked to have my iron levels checked at some point because of symptoms. No. And this even though I see a doctor not more than once a year...I have many more examples, but I don't want to share them publicly.