EPO Staff Representatives Issue a Warning About Staff's Health and Inadequate Care
The EPO's Local Staff Committee The Hague - also abbreviated as LSCTH - has a new open letter concerning the health of staff - a problem which worsened in the Benoît Battistelli days and continues to worsen as António Campinos turns the Office into a sham that spews out invalid monopolies for a fee. That includes European software patents - i.e. patents which are both illegal and undesirable. Many examiners have been rendered prisoners in "golden" cages (the cages aren't even golden anymore) and their sole purpose is to bring money by cheating the system, usually on behalf of very large foreign corporations. That cannot be good for morale or for one's mental health, which is closely connected to one's physical wellbeing (overall).
Quoting LSCTH:
Dear colleagues,
Your Local Staff Committee The Hague has sent an open letter to EPO management to express serious concerns about the current and future state of healthcare services at our site.
Due to the structural differences between the Dutch and German healthcare systems, staff in The Hague rely more heavily on in-house healthcare professionals for accessible and high-quality care — particularly for issues related to occupational health, stress, and complex cases. These professionals play a vital role in ensuring our well-being and reducing sickness absences.
However, recent trends toward outsourcing healthcare services are jeopardizing this support. External providers on short-term contracts often lack familiarity with EPO-specific needs and staff concerns, leading to mixed experiences and a loss of continuity and trust.
To safeguard the quality of care, the LSCTH calls for:
Investment in strong, high-quality in-house healthcare services in The Hague; and
Involvement of staff representatives in the tendering process for healthcare providers.
These measures are essential to ensure continuity, maintain organizational knowledge, and uphold the standard of care staff deserve. We trust that management will act to preserve a healthcare system that truly supports staff in The Hague.
Here is the LSCTH letter dated about a fortnight ago, sent the manager who is afraid of us because we shed light on EPO affairs:
European Patent Office
Patentlaan 2
2288 EE Rijswijk
NETHERLANDSLocal Staff Committee
The Haguedhstcom@epo.org
Date: 26-06-2025
Ref: sc25008hl
To: Mr Rowan – VP1
Cc: Ms Simon – VP4
By email only
OPEN LETTER
Ensuring Continuity and Quality of Healthcare Services in The Hague
Dear Mr Rowan, Ms Simon,
The Local Staff Committee The Hague wishes to reiterate its concerns regarding the current and future state of healthcare services provided to staff at the EPO site in The Hague.
It is well understood1 that the structure and accessibility of healthcare in the Netherlands differ significantly from those in Germany. This disparity results in notably lower healthcare insurance costs for staff in The Hague compared to Munich. However, it also means that staff in The Hague rely more heavily on the support of in-house healthcare professionals to bridge the gap in access and quality of care, also for health concerns which are intimately linked to their professional activity.
Our in-house healthcare professionals have consistently provided invaluable assistance to staff, particularly in navigating the complexities of the Dutch healthcare system, in securing access to general practitioners and ensuring adequate care in case of occupational diseases. Their support has been essential in managing complex medical cases and ensuring the well-being of our colleagues. And by facilitating timely access to appropriate care, they have contributed to reducing the number of sickness days.
We are therefore deeply concerned about the ongoing trend toward externalizing healthcare services. While we understand the Office’s intention to streamline operations, we must emphasize that the continuity, reliability, and quality of care in The Hague depend on maintaining a strong internal healthcare team. The
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1 See „Healthcare insurance figures 2024“, paragraph 1.1
relationships built between staff and our in-house nurses and doctors are based on trust, familiarity, and a deep understanding of the EPO’s specific health risks, including work-related stress, repetitive strain injuries, and psychosocial challenges.
We respectfully request that the Office ensures a sufficient number of nurses and doctors remain available on-site in The Hague. Our position remains that these professionals should be offered internal positions to guarantee continuity of service and organizational knowledge, which are critical to effective healthcare provision.
The current model of substantial externalization has led to a disconnect between healthcare providers and staff. The short-term nature of the contracts2 with external healthcare providers creates uncertainty for the professionals involved and hinders their ability to develop knowledge of and familiarity with the staff and the organization. Feedback received from colleagues indicates mixed experiences with the care provided by external contractors, reinforcing the need for a reassessment of this approach.
Before the situation deteriorates further, we kindly request the following measures:
- That the EPO invests in high-quality, in-house healthcare services in The Hague to ensure continuity and improve the current shortcomings; and
- That a staff representative be involved in the tender procedure for any ongoing and future contracts with external healthcare providers.
These concerns and requests have been made repeatedly in various forums, including in discussions with you in your capacity of site manager, as well as at LOHSEC and COHSEC meetings. We feel compelled to reiterate them now with urgency, as the current trajectory risks undermining the health and well-being of staff in The Hague. We believe the request is well justified as a measure that recognises and helps address the disparity in costs for healthcare in different places of employment by bolstering the in-house support in The Hague.
We trust that you will give this matter the attention it deserves and look forward to your support in maintaining a high standard of healthcare services for our colleagues.
Kind regards,
Isabelle Brandt, on behalf of the Local Staff Committee The Hague
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2 Our understanding is that contract durations range from 3 months to 1 year.
"These concerns and requests have been made repeatedly in various forums," they say, but all they get is finger-pointing by managers, blaming the messengers without even attempting to address the concerns - usually without even bringing those up and discussing them.
Also revisit the following:
- EPO Union Says Monopoly-Granting Targets at EPO "Difficult to Achieve Without Compromising [Staff] Health, Personal Time or the Quality of the Final Products" (Products as in Monopolies, Not Real Products)
- EPO's Local Occupational Health, Safety and Ergonomics Committee (LOHSEC) in The Hague: Workers Are Getting Sicker, Conditions in Which to Assess Patent Applications Deteriorate
- Corrupt Administration at the European Patent Office is Causing a Mental Health Crisis
- The State of EPO Staff's Health in Rijswijk or The Hague
- EPO Investigative Unit Causes “Trauma, Will Ruin the Health or Even the Family”
- EPO Squeezing the Staff - Part I - Burnout and Family Health
The EPO used to be a reputable organisation. These days the general public knows that the EPO is unscrupulous and corrupt. Even the EPO's own stakeholders (money sources) are openly protesting against what the EPO became. A lot of the staff is livid. █