Dutch hospitals have stemmed years of financial decline, stabilising operating results in 2025, but a sharp slowdown in investment is raising doubts over infrastructure and technology affordability
Dutch hospitals appear to have halted years of financial decline, with operating results stabilising in 2025, but a sharp slowdown in investment raises questions over whether the sector can afford the buildings, technology, and care transformation it will need in the coming years.
Dutch consultancy Gupta Strategists analysed annual reports from 70 Dutch hospitals, finding the average operating result (EBITDA) reached 7.2% in 2025, just above the 7% it considers healthy. The average net result after costs was stable at 2.1%, despite rising staff costs.
Gupta warns that hospitals invested less than in previous years and will need stronger operating results to absorb rising capital charges.
“There’s a little bit of duality in the numbers,” Gupta Strategists analyst Victor Benthem told Euractiv. “On the one hand, the result seems to stabilise … but when you dive a little deeper towards the investments and the capital expenses, we still see an ongoing struggle where they invest remarkably little”.
