VERDUN – When Shahrokh Hoghooghi asked for an update on his father’s medical condition at the Verdun Hospital, he wasn’t expecting the response he got.
The two nurses on duty apparently told him they only speak French.
“Life is more important than language,” said Hoghooghi, adding that a nurse also told him he didn’t speak very good French.
Hoghooghi said the incident caused his 90-year-old father serious angst.
He has been in hospital for ten days and is hooked up to an IV while being treated for a blood clot for the second time.
Hoghooghi told Global News that his father’s doctor has been patient with the family and encouraged him to file a complaint.
He followed the doctor’s advice and wrote to the head nurse; he met with her Tuesday afternoon.
Hoghooghi said he is concerned that the language debate going on in the corridors of the hospital is negatively affecting his father’s condition.
“Verdun Hospital employees offer services in French, while respecting the rights of Anglophones to be served in their language of choice,” wrote the hospital in a statement to Global News.
“We will not comment on this particular situation as we are conducting an internal investigation.”
This isn’t the first time that language has been an issue at the Verdun Hospital.
In July, a man who was trying to get a hospital card was allegedly refused service by an administrative clerk because he made the request in English.
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