MONTREAL - A man says his mother hasn't been getting adequate care at the Royal Victoria Hospital because some of the staff can't speak French.
Royer Harvey, whose Alzheimer's and needs constant round-the-clock care, filed an official complaint. He says that his mother, who only speaks French, has had great difficulty speaking to orderlies and nurses.
"There's a lot of staff that speaks only English," he wrote in a letter. "We speak to them in French, and there are some who understand, but respond in English. There are others who don't understand French at all, have no idea what we're saying, and respond in English."
The hospital and Quebec's health minister are investigating.
When Harvey's mother needed to go into a long-term care facility at the end of January, he first looked at Notre-Dame, Maisonneuve and Saint-Luc hospitals, but there was no room. Only the Royal Victoria had space.
Harvey said the situation is so bad he hired an interpreter to stay with his mother for six hours a day, at a cost of $20 an hour.
Despite this, Harvey said he doesn't want to start a war with the hospital or be a poster child for language complaints. He just wants the hospital and the health minister to let his mother be served in French.
Health Minister Yves Bolduc says it's essential that people can be treated in French, and the government will correct the situation.
"We are in Quebec, it's essential that people can be treated in French," he said.
The Royal Victoria expressed surprised by the complaint and the hospital's ombudsman is looking into it.
On Friday, one day after the provincial politicians took note of the matter, the hospital issued a statement saying the MUHC "is a bilingual institution."
"In patient care, MUHC staff members always endeavour to address people in the language in which they are most comfortable," the statement said.
"Around half of our staff members are French first language, and many are trilingual. We also have interpreters that can assist with communication in dozens of additional languages. We also provide French and English language training to new employees when required."
The hospital also noted that disagreements about language, whether lack of English or lack of French, make up less than half of one per cent of all complaints made to the MUHC's ombudsman.
