Language courses are indispensable to us

Since then, fifteen participants have started a course where they learn, among other things, how to read their work schedules, report sick or recovered, hand over work, understand abbreviations on a diet list, understand hygiene rules, and communicate politely with patients. Participants in the Advanced course also learn how to give or receive compliments and how to respond well to criticism.

They always think along with us

Esther de Wilde, Patient Information & Low Literacy advisor, explains the reasons for purchasing training from TopTaal. 'We have a large Services department. This includes the cleaning crew, among others. Because many people work here for whom Dutch is not their native language, we decided to give them the opportunity to improve their language skills. This group of employees appeared to run into many issues. Think of reading instructions and safety regulations. That had to change. Language is a means here to help employees function better. And because we are focusing more and more emphatically on low-literate employees and patients, language courses are indispensable to us.'

Enthusiastic responses

Willing and friendly—that is how Esther experiences the contact persons at TopTaal. 'They always think along with us. They also help very well with applying for subsidies. For example, they assisted us this year when we wanted to apply for a subsidy again. They notified us when the application deadline was approaching and then filled out a large part of the subsidy application for us. That helped us enormously.'

The flexibility that TopTaal offers is also well-received at Spaarne Gasthuis. Together with TopTaal, Esther selects the most suitable times for the courses. After all, cleaners often work evening shifts, so it is important that they can attend the course during the day. 'The evaluation of last year's course showed that there was a fairly long period between the intakes and the start of the courses. That was due to the allocation of the subsidy at the time. This year, we were able to do things differently.'

'We received very enthusiastic responses from the participants. It was also useful that everyone received advice from the teacher: go to the library, for example. Or have a chat with the neighbor. We noticed that students find it difficult to continue learning on their own after the course, so it was valuable that they were given a personal tip for that. What I also really liked was that we, as a hospital, participated in Literacy Week. When I wanted to organize a refresher course for all employees, from doctors to receptionists, TopTaal offered to do this free of charge, specifically for us as a hospital. Isn't that great?'

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