Make French mandatory in Quebec hospitals, groups say

[Praxius]

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/montreal/story/2007/12/21/qcc-frenchhospital1221.html

French should be the working language in all Quebec hospitals to guarantee patients are served in their mother tongue, language advocates say.

Quebec must consider reverting to its first language laws to guarantee that French is used in all hospital and health establishments, said the Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste (SSJB) and Le Mouvement Montréal français.

In some Montreal hospitals, doctors are unilingual anglophones and communicate with patients only in English, which is insulting and creates all kinds of problems, said Jean Dorion, SSJB president.

Dorion was recently admitted to the Royal Victoria Hospital on McGill University's campus. After waiting 20 hours, he was seen by a doctor who asked him if he spoke English.

"I did what most people who speak English would do. I said yes, and I was treated in English. I found it humiliating," he said. "Then I found myself with a prescription in English, with instructions in English."

The experience was a wake-up call, Dorion said. Patients taken to hospital in ambulances can't choose where they're going and often as not end up in English-language hospitals where they should be able to speak French with their health providers and not be made to feel bad for asking, he said.

"Obviously I'm rather bilingual, but if I ask for French treatment, maybe [the doctor] will not like that. And of course, you want the doctor to look at your case with a very favourable prejudice," he said.

The government and hospitals have the onus to make sure patients can communicate with doctors on staff. "It's the only way to ensure you are served in French," Dorion said.

Reverting to Quebec's original language law — Bill 101 — would rectify the problem because the first legislation made French the official working and service language in all hospitals, Dorion said.

The law was was amended in 1983 when Montreal hospitals affiliated with McGill University successfully lobbied for the right to hire non-French speaking staff as long as francophones were available, he said.

Sorry, but what a load of Crap.

Ok, granted, waiting 20 hours to see a doctor is insane as it is.... but the doctor asked if he spoke English and he said yes.... that's his own stupidity.

Oooo.. he would have felt bad if he said no? WTF? Gee, we don't want to hurt the Doctors precious feelings in telling him you would like to communicate in French :roll:

Wow.... he got his Px in English.... he got the instructions in English? I wonder why?

Perhaps because he said he spoke English and didn't bother to bring up that he was French?

Yeah great way of putting the blame on the doctor for his own idiocy..... now due to his idiocy, he wants the laws all changed and make English people out to be the bad guys.

So what will this do now once they change the laws all back again? If I for some reason go to Montreal to see a family member, and I don't speak french all that well... if I get into an accident and I don't speak french, am I going to be screwed over of proper treatment?

Are they going to turn me away because I only speak English mainly..... FFS people.... I could be dieing, I don't think it should matter one damn bit if my high school french training didn't stick in my head.

I know that if anybody who spoke french as their main language has an accident or injury here in NS, there would be doctors who would still treat that person and would find a method of communication to get the job done.... I couldn't see any doctor turn around and walk away or give him a hard time just because they don't speak English...... come on this is just silly.

Does anybody else ever notice the differences throughout the country in this aspect? You come across someone who speaks french who needs help.... you try and help even if you can't speak french all that well..... but if you goto Quebec and can't speak French, they treat you like sh*t, turn their nose up at you, and basically cast you out.

Gee... I'm terribly sorry that he thinks speaking english is humiliating... at least he got his damn service.

and on a side note... 20 hours waiting... thank god he wasn't from Poland and they didn't decide to get the mounties on his ass for not speaking english. Zap!

Oh I'm sorry, did I offend someone?

Added:

I don't have an issue of them making French Manditory in hospitals in Quebec... that makes sense... but his experience was his own doing, and I want to make sure that if for some reason I need to goto the hospital anywhere in the country, I can still get English.

Frig, you want to know what's really humiliating? The fact that most in Quebec seem to have this continual growing hatred towards people who speak English, not to mention immigrants who move there and don't speak their language..... Where the hell do they get off with this Nazi Mentality that if you don't confirm to what they want, you're just a 2nd class citizen in their provience?

 

[Nuggler]

French should be the primary language, in France.

:canada:

 

[tracy]

People are stupid. They already make you pass a pretty difficult french language exam to be able to practice there. Had the doc felt his french was not up to snuff, he would have simply gotten another person to translate his instructions. To feel humiliated because you told someone you spoke english and so they spoke to you in english is beyond stupid.