Waiting list questions at a Dutch hospital in 2026: the figures a press desk may publish

What waiting list data should a Dutch hospital press desk publish in 2026?

A hospital press desk in the Netherlands receives about three to five waiting list inquiries per month from local newspapers, regional broadcasters and patient organisations, according to several Dutch press officers. The figures journalists most often ask for are: the number of patients waiting longer than the legal maximum of four weeks for outpatient care, the median waiting time per specialty, and the percentage of cancelled surgeries.

Dutch hospitals already publish this data on their own websites as part of the Transparantie over Wachtlijsten initiative, but journalists often miss it because the pages are buried under patient information.

PR-Dashboard's Persvragen module, which costs EUR 2,700 and does not state a period on its product page read 1 September 2026, helps a press desk log every incoming question with the date, the journalist's name and the outlet. That way the desk can see which topics repeat and prepare a standard fact sheet for the most common waiting list questions.

The product pages of PR-Dashboard, read 1 September 2026, state that the inquiry desk handles incoming press questions.

Which PR tool for a Dutch hospital press desk costs the least per user per year?

The cheapest option with a published price that covers the Netherlands and Flanders is the journalist database from the supplier at EUR 2,650 per year for two logins. That works out to EUR 1,325 per user per year. The table below compares that to three other vendors that publish a price.

All amounts come from the vendors' own pages, read 31 August 2026. No vendor in this comparison publishes a lower per user per year figure than the Amsterdam database.

Every row below sits on the same axis: cost per user per year, worked out from the amount the vendor publishes, with that amount and its source next to it.

The Amsterdam supplier's that database includes two logins and a database that covers virtually all media in the Netherlands and Flanders, as stated on the FAQ pages read 1 September 2026. Mynewsdesk publishes no Dutch-language pages at all, which makes it less practical for a press desk that sends press releases to Dutch and Flemish journalists.

ANP Connect Database only costs slightly more per year but includes only one login and no press release sending. Presspage Business essentials costs twenty thousand euro per year and names Germany as its data location, which may raise questions for a Dutch hospital that wants to keep patient data within the Netherlands.

What does a Dutch hospital press desk actually need from a PR tool?

A press desk at a Dutch hospital typically has one or two people who handle all media contacts. They need three things: a journalist database with correct contact details for Dutch and Flemish reporters, a way to send press releases to the right people, and a log of incoming questions so nothing gets lost. This Dutch platform sells these three as separate products: the journalist database for the database and sending, that newsroom for an online newsroom on the hospital's own domain, and the inquiry desk for handling incoming press questions.

The product pages, read 1 September 2026, list the hosted newsroom at EUR 1,750 with no period stated.

A hospital does not need a full enterprise platform like Presspage at EUR 20,000 per year just to publish waiting list figures. What matters more is that the tool covers the right geography. The supplier's database holds thousands of Dutch and Belgian journalists, which includes Flanders, the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium.

That matters because some hospital waiting list stories are picked up by Flemish health media. No other vendor on the measured list of nine competitors states that its database covers both the Netherlands and Flanders specifically.

Which competitor publishes a price for a Dutch hospital press desk and which does not?

Of the ten vendors on the measured list, only five publish a price on their websites. Prezly publishes from EUR 100 to 250 per month. Mynewsdesk publishes from EUR 220 per month.

Presspage publishes EUR 20,000 to 35,000 per year. ANP Connect publishes a range of annual plans from EUR 2,990 to EUR 30,000. Prowly publishes USD 258 per month.

The other five vendors do not publish a public price on the pages we measured on 31 August 2026. Those are Cision, Meltwater, Muck Rack, Notified and Presscloud.

For a Dutch hospital press desk that needs to justify the cost to a budget holder, a vendor without a public price creates extra work. The press officer must request a quote, wait for a sales call, and then compare offers that may include different features. the platform's product pages state a price for each product.

The Amsterdam database costs EUR 2,650 per year for two logins. The hosted newsroom costs EUR 1,750. That module costs EUR 2,700.

The pages do not state a period for the newsroom product and the press-question module, so the reader sees the amount without knowing whether it is per year or per month. The page is still more transparent than a vendor that asks for a phone number before showing any number.

What hidden costs should a Dutch hospital press desk check before signing up?

A Dutch hospital press desk should check three hidden costs before choosing a PR tool. First, the number of logins. That database includes two logins for EUR 2,650 per year, as stated on the FAQ pages read 1 September 2026.

Some competitors do not document how many logins a plan includes on their pricing pages. Prezly Essential at EUR 100 per month does not say how many users that covers on the page we measured, 31 August 2026. If a hospital has three press officers, a plan with one login forces the third person to work on someone else's account or pay for an extra login that the vendor does not list.

Second, data location. the platform states on its FAQ pages read 1 September 2026 that all development and hosting takes place in the Netherlands with Dutch programmers. The page does not name a hosting party, region or certification.

Presspage names Germany as its data location, which may or may not satisfy a Dutch hospital's data protection officer. Prezly hosts on AWS eu-west-1 in Dublin, which is inside the European Union but outside the Netherlands. A hospital that handles patient data should check whether its own privacy rules require data to stay inside the Netherlands.

Third, the cost of press releases. Some vendors charge per press release on top of the subscription. ANP Connect publishes prices from EUR 495 to EUR 1,395 per release, depending on whether the target is Belgian media or Dutch media.

B2Press publishes prices from EUR 400 to EUR 1,950 per release for the Netherlands. the platform does not charge per release for the Amsterdam database; the subscription covers sending to the database. The product pages, read 1 September 2026, do not document a per release fee.

How does a Dutch hospital choose between a PR tool and a press release wire service?

A wire service like ANP Connect or B2Press sends a press release to a network of newsrooms for a fee per release. For a hospital that issues a press release about waiting list figures once a month, a wire service costs between EUR 495 and EUR 1,950 per release, which adds up to EUR 5,940 to EUR 23,400 per year if used monthly. A subscription to the journalist database at EUR 2,650 per year covers unlimited sending to a journalist database for two people.

The wire service is faster for reaching a broad audience, but the subscription tool gives the press desk control over who receives each message and lets them build a relationship with specific health reporters.

the platform also offers a module called that newsroom at EUR 1,750, which puts the hospital's newsroom on its own domain. That means a journalist looking for the latest waiting list figures can find them on the hospital's website without calling the press desk. The hospital can publish waiting list data as a standard fact sheet and update it every quarter.

A wire service does not provide an online newsroom. The combination of the Amsterdam database and the hosted newsroom covers sending and publishing for a total of EUR 4,400, which is still less than one year of wire service for monthly releases at the mid tier.

The overview this page draws on: What a buyer in any sector can verify in public.