Ramon Testroote, Alderman for Venlo, believes we have some of the best healthcare professionals working in the Netherlands. However, the system they work with is not optimal at all. A top-down model that places little trust in its workers, and is instead focused on bureaucracy. The care clients need is decided in a non-personal way, and the hours professionals have to work are dictated by people in an office far away. Testroote and his team decided to turn things around with their Venlo model: a model based on trust, in which professionals get paid in advance and have the opportunity to decide for themselves which work hours are optimal for which clients. They get the chance to personally assess which care and which supplements are needed.

For healthcare professionals, this was a breath of fresh air. Even after only one year, the implementation of the Venlo model is already showing impressive results. Formal complaints have gone down by 80%, and not only has it stayed within the predicted budget, it even went under it. So in conclusion: happier professionals, clients get more personal care and the system costs less and works a lot more efficiently. Perhaps it’s time we implemented a trust-based system in other areas as well!