When words fail you in hospital

"Sometimes my colleagues have to translate terms just for me, " says Aurore Letonne. In such situations, the French-born woman feels pangs of guilt. But the psychomotor therapist, who has been working at the Centre Hospitalier Neuro-Psychiatrique (CHNP) in Ettelbruck for a year and a half, wants to change that in future.

Since last autumn, she has been attending an in-house Luxembourgish language course. "I'd like to be able to understand [my colleagues] more easily, so that communication becomes smoother and less complicated for everyone." But she also hopes this will benefit her interactions with patients. "I'd like to reach a level where I can understand the patients well and at least give the instructions for my exercises [in Luxembourgish]."

Aurore Letonne is by no means alone in this aspiration. Roughly 100 CHNP staff members were enrolled in a Luxembourgish course by mid-July. Just under a dozen were attending French courses.

Language is of central importance, particularly in a medical context. Communication problems can quickly have tangible consequences. "For many patients, it is challenging enough to talk about their health, symptoms or fears in a foreign language. In emergency or vulnerable situations, this can place an additional burden on them and also affect the quality of care, " says Patiente-Vertriedung (the patient advocacy).