Chapter 5
Health and wellbeing
Sort out a GP before you get ill, and know where to go when things are hard. Homesickness and stress in the first months are very common.
Emergency
In immediate danger or a life-threatening situation, call 112. It is free and works in the Netherlands and Belgium, also with a foreign SIM card.
Your school helps too
Almost every institution has student psychologists, student counsellors or student services, often free. You can go there with stress, homesickness, loneliness, problems with your studies or your room. Ask your international office if you do not know where to start.
Someone to talk to
- Thinking about suicide? In the Netherlands call 113 for free (0800-0113), in Belgium the suicide line 1813. Both day and night.
- Talk to friends, housemates or family. You are really not the only one who finds the start hard.
Need to clear your head? Talk to StudySlim, any time.
In the Netherlands
GP (huisarts)
In the Netherlands you go to your GP first when you are ill, not to the hospital. The GP refers you on if needed. Register with a GP near your room soon after you arrive; many practices only take patients from their area, and some cities or schools have a student GP. In the evening, at night and at weekends you call the out-of-hours GP service (huisartsenpost).
What the GP costs depends on your insurance (see https://studyslim.com/study-in-the-netherlands-and-belgium/arrival/).
In Belgium
GP (huisarts)
In Belgium you choose your own GP. Having a regular GP helps, also for referrals. You often pay first and get part of it back through your health insurance fund, or with your EHIC through your insurer at home (see https://studyslim.com/study-in-the-netherlands-and-belgium/arrival/). Outside office hours there is an on-call GP service; your school or municipality can tell you how it works in your city.