Care transporters are experiencing massive problems due to capacity problems at the CBR, says employers’ organization Royal Dutch Transport (KNV). As a result, more and more drivers are unable to take their practical exam on time. In the long term, the organization advocates a completely different system in which they are less dependent on the CBR.
The influx of new personnel at healthcare transport companies threatens to come to a standstill, reports KNV. According to them, this is extra hard, because there are more than 250 vacancies for drivers in the sector. The shortage of drivers can lead to trip cancellations and subsequent inconvenience for customers who depend on healthcare transport. “It also creates uncertainty, stress and extra absenteeism due to absenteeism for companies and drivers. After all, they are confronted with too large a work package due to the available capacity”, according to the employers’ organization.
KNV is therefore sounding the alarm. “The fact that the pressure in care transport was high due to staff shortages was already apparent after last summer when student transport was in the news as a result. The sector is making every effort to recruit drivers, which is still difficult,” said KNV chairman Bertho Eckhardt. “We already experienced the problems at the CBR at that time and they are still making a negative contribution to the staff shortage. Solutions must be found quickly if we want to maintain healthcare transport.”
Short term KNV naturally advocates for more exam capacity at the CBR in order to allow more drivers to enter. However, that is not a short-term solution. Eckhardt: “Recently, the duration of the apprenticeship trajectory (LWT) in the sector has gone from four to six months . That gives space. The CBR also took extra measures . But all that is not enough. We see that companies remain stuck and there are now more than 250 drivers awaiting an exam. We therefore also advocate that the term of the LWT process be extended, if only until the CBR can meet the demand again.”
In addition, according to the chairman admits that some of the drivers leave early because they find work outside healthcare transport. According to him, a longer apprenticeship trajectory helps prevent this.
Long term In terms of the long term, the employers’ organization advocates a complete another system, in which good training is central, but the sector is less dependent on the CBR. “Companies with employees can do and organize a lot themselves. There is more than enough knowledge in the industry to train high-quality drivers ourselves, without everyone having to be examined by the CBR,” says Eckhardt.
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