What happens on an IGJ inspection visit, and how do you prepare a clinic for one?

An IGJ visit may be announced or partly unannounced, and inspectors interview staff and the board, watch the daily work and read documents and patient files. Every visit ends in a judgment and a report that the IGJ publishes.

What an inspector does on site

Inspectors hold conversations with care professionals, the client council, the board and internal supervisors, may watch professionals at work, and read documents and patient or client files.¹ Article 24 of the Wkkgz gives them the right to enter care premises and extends their powers to dossiers, and a professional bound by secrecy cannot invoke it against them.⁴ The IGJ made 2,020 inspection visits in 2025 and 300 desk inspections with a judgment.³

How to prepare the clinic

1. Name who receives the inspector. A director and a deputy, reachable on any working day, since a visit may come unannounced.
2. Keep the core documents in one place. The klachtenregeling, the incident and calamiteit procedures, the quality data and the Wtza melding or vergunning.
3. Read ten files cold. Pick ten recent patients and check each file is complete, signed, timed and holds the consent.
4. Brief the team. Who does what, how to report an incident and where the complaints route is written.
5. Check access to the files. Who can open a dossier, and whether every read is logged against a named account.

1. Date ______ Location ______
2. Contact for the inspector ______ Deputy ______
3. Files read ______ Complete, signed and timed ______
4. Procedures current, incidents and calamiteiten ______
5. Klachtenregeling and geschilleninstantie shown to patients ______
6. Gaps ______ Owner ______ Date ______

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After the visit

The IGJ gives a judgment after every inspection visit and writes a report, published on its toezichtdocumenten site.¹ Before publication the provider receives an openbaarmakingsbesluit, may object within 6 weeks, and a report stays online for 5 years.² Where standards are missed, the IGJ may move to a measure, set out in the guide to IGJ measures.

Questions

Does the IGJ announce its visits?

Sometimes. A visit may be announced in advance or (partly) unannounced, and the IGJ also judges some providers from written information alone.

Can an inspector read patient files without consent?

Yes. Article 24 of the Wkkgz extends the inspectors' powers to dossiers, and a professional's duty of secrecy cannot be invoked against them.

Is the inspection report public?

Yes. The IGJ publishes its reports on toezichtdocumenten.igj.nl after an openbaarmakingsbesluit, and a report stays online for 5 years.

Sources

1. 1Inspectie Gezondheidszorg en Jeugd, 2026ToezichtactiviteitenRead source
2. 2Inspectie Gezondheidszorg en Jeugd, 2026Wat we openbaar makenRead source
3. 3Inspectie Gezondheidszorg en Jeugd, 2026Jaarbeeld IGJ 2025Read source
4. 4Overheid.nl, wetten.overheid.nl, 2026Wet kwaliteit, klachten en geschillen zorgRead source

Written by the wai team from Inspectie Gezondheidszorg en Jeugd guidance, checked on 16 October 2026. This is guidance, not legal advice. The IGJ does not endorse wai or any software.