According to the law, Quebec patients can still ask to be addressed in another language, but will some staff now be scared to do so for fear of reprisals?
On Wednesday, representatives of the Office québécois de la langue française targeted Santa Cabrini Hospital, which was founded more than 60 years ago to better serve Montreal’s Italian community. Like the Jewish General Hospital, it treats Quebecers of all faiths, languages and cultures equally and with the utmost care — and entirely in French if a patient is francophone. The McGill University Health Centre, despite being perceived by many as an English institution, is also fully functional in French, even employing French first in its signage and communications.
Before the visit, Santa Cabrini’s staff members received an internal memo about compliance with Bill 96, with reminders that “the working language” as well as “all documents, notes and records” must be “in French at all times.”
The patients and staff at Santa Cabrini are an eclectic mix of many languages and cultures. As at the Jewish General, language barriers don’t exist. It is not designated an officially bilingual institution, but has always treated patients in the language of their choice, whether it be English, French or Italian. According to the law, users can still ask to be addressed in another language, but will some staff now be scared to do so for fear of reprisals?
For overworked health-care professionals trained and motivated to treat, cure and save lives, this recent nonsense serves not only as a ridiculous distraction from their job, but attacks their very ethos. Caring for their patients in the most compassionate way possible drives their mission — not the diktats of anglophobic politicians or bureaucrats. Any medical miscommunication or misunderstanding could put lives at risk.
The Hippocratic Oath is regarded as the cornerstone of the medical profession: “I shall work with my profession to improve the quality of medical care and to improve the public health, but I shall not let any lesser public or professional consideration interfere with my primary commitment to provide the best and most appropriate care available to each of my patients.” (My emphasis.)
Former Parti Québécois premier Lucien Bouchard said as much many years ago with his famous pledge: “When you go to the hospital and you’re in pain, you may need a blood test, but you certainly don’t need a language test.”
There’s no shortage of major problems to resolve in our health-care system with limited financial resources. To merit any credibility, the recently named heads of Santé Québec, the premier and his ministers must step in and quash this latest nuisance to show they are genuinely concerned with real priorities.