PsyAccess
Spravato®Registry-verifiedDesignated-centers model

Amsterdam UMC

Amsterdam, Netherlands

Treatment & access

About this provider

Amsterdam UMC is one of the Netherlands' university medical centers; its Psychiatry department (location AMC) began esketamine nasal spray treatment in early 2020, shortly after EMA approval. The spray is administered in the hospital under supervision of a medical professional, with about 90 minutes of observation per session because of short-lived side effects. Access runs exclusively via referral from a GP or the patient's current treating clinician; the treatment team cannot be approached directly. Amsterdam UMC also runs esketamine research and works with other Dutch centers on uniform outcome measurement.

Services & programs

  • Esketamine nasal spray for depression not responding to regular treatment: 2 sessions per week for 4 weeks in combination with an oral antidepressant; if effective, tapered to once a week or once every two weeks, often continuing as maintenance treatment
  • In-hospital administration with roughly 90 minutes of observation per session; medication is collected from the hospital pharmacy by staff and never handed to the patient
  • Esketamine study for patients who still have treatment options but had insufficient effect from 2 different antidepressants
  • Regular depression care at the department includes medication, psychotherapy and electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)

Common questions

How do I get esketamine treatment at Amsterdam UMC?

Via a referral (verwijzing) from your GP or current treating clinician to Amsterdam UMC location AMC. It is not possible to contact the esketamine clinicians directly.

What does a session look like?

You receive the nasal spray in the hospital under supervision of a medical professional and are then observed for about 90 minutes. Possible short-lived effects include tiredness, dizziness and feeling detached from your body.

How long does the treatment take?

For 4 weeks you receive the spray twice a week alongside an oral antidepressant. If there is no effect after this period, treatment is stopped; if it works, the frequency is reduced to once a week or once every two weeks, and maintenance treatment is often needed.

Is the nasal spray addictive?

According to Amsterdam UMC, patients do not need ever-higher doses and no withdrawal symptoms are seen on stopping. The medication is not used in people prone to addiction, and it is dispensed and administered by the hospital only.

Looking at alternatives? Other ENC-NL consortium centers across the Netherlands offer the same publicly reimbursed esketamine programme; private-pay routes are rare in the Dutch system.

Verification

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