“Sometimes, you have to put some pressure on, otherwise you can end up in an endless procedure,” said UM President Rianne Letschert in reply to the remark by her colleague Helen Mertens, chair of the Executive Board of Maastricht UMC, to “launch the new organisation” in June 2024. Mertens is not saying that everything will be sorted by then, but “I do hope that agreements will have been reached on many issues”.
Autonomy
Two months ago, the plan for the merger was announced; what were the reactions that came in, the panel chairperson wants to know. Letschert received mainly support for the “strategic foundation”, she says, but there are also worries, because will UM not secretly become a health sciences university? That concern is shared in particular by the inner-city faculties. “We must therefore really think about the management model. Which responsibilities and mandates lie where? You have to maintain the faculties’ autonomy.” In the fields of politics and social sciences, Europa, economics and law, UM has important knowledge and expertise, Letschert outlines, “but a solid medical cluster is necessary to remain stable”. An integrated UMC could have led to the largest Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences being transferred to the hospital, but, as Letschert had previously said to Observant, “we didn’t think that was wise. If that faculty was to transfer to UMC, we would lose it.” She also refers to that now: the loss of a medical faculty would be at the expense of the innovation and power of other faculties. “You must continue to do things jointly with each other.”
Danger
Health will become an important theme, but that does not mean that all scientists and lecturers suddenly have to change course. Yes, wherever there are possibilities (“that will have to come from the organisation itself,” for which an appeal will be made to the deans), bridges can be built, such as in the field of health ethics, health law and health economics, “but we will not force anyone”. Anyone who is doing “great” work in the non-medical sector (examples include tax and corporate law) should continue to do so. “That will not be endangered.”
Style
In 2008, MUMC+ was set up. The idea was to interlink education, research and patient care more closely. But the many integration attempts failed. Letschert: “At the time, the university was much smaller, but now we have four campuses, we have developed tremendously.” There are also other personalities at the helm. “Helen and I reached out to each other last year. It helps when you allow each other things and dare to bring problems out into the open. We both have that style.” In addition, the situation in the country has changed, Letschert outlines, such as the competition between the UMC’s and the urge to concentrate, “look at Leiden, Delft and Rotterdam where the universities and hospitals are clustered, you will have to join forces, also because it is becoming more expensive to maintain an expensive infrastructure.” By working together, they also expect to be able to deal with social challenges better, such as the ageing population, the imbalance between the supply and demand of health care, and personnel shortages.
Quartermaster
A quartermaster has already been appointed: Dedan Schmidt (he briefly joins in on the session). Schmidt is a 54-year-old public administration expert and organisation consultant, who has several interim management jobs to his name. Last year, he was the interim director of ‘Verpleegkundigen en Verzorgenden Nederland’ (Nurses and Care Providers Netherlands), so he is aware of all the ins and outs of the Integraal Zorgakkoord (Integral Care Agreement), the agreements that the government has made with parties in the health care sector with a view to the future. Moreover, he knows the goings on inside a higher education institute. He was involved in the (re)organisation of the University of Groningen’s office. Letschert: “From now on, he will direct the process.”
Management model
Both chairpersons are aware that the exercise involves “thousands of questions”, risks and concerns. “We often don’t have an answer, we don’t know much as yet.” They still make an attempt during this Q&A session (employees were able to submit questions online). What management model will be used? They are striving towards a model with one organisation and one employee, but whether that will be possible? “No idea,” says Letschert. “This requires a considerable number of legal adaptations.” Will support services be controlled across UM? Mertens: “There are challenges in areas such as HR, facilities, IT, and housing, but the pace of change will differ for each service.” We will also have to map out the role of employee participation, Letschert adds, “because it is a re-organisation”. Will jobs be lost? “The drive is in the strategic co-operation, not in the need to make cuts and lump shared services together. I would not like that, that does not inspire me.” Mertens agrees by saying: “I think we are really going to need the people.”