Gerald Johnson, a 52-year-old patient at Verdun Hospital being treated for pneumonia, says his stay became a little more uncomfortable after asking if he could have an extra towel.
“She said ‘I only speak French.’ I thought that was odd.”
The day before, the patient of two weeks says he spoke to the same nursing assistant in English.
Johnson believes the comments were unprofessional so he filed a complaint to the nursing staff on Nov. 2.
Following his complaint a staff person met with him to discuss the matter but Johnson said the service has not improved.
His was the only tray left behind on the floor.
This is not the first time Verdun Hospital has been in the news over language issues.
READ MORE: Language woes at Verdun Hospital
Even though the Verdun Hospital is in a historically bilingual neighbourhood, the law requires them to offer a minimum standard of services in both official languages.
To solve the problem the vice president of the Quebec Community Groups Network, Geoffrey Chambers, said the government should hurry and implement an access plan that would direct hospitals on how deal with Anglophones and Allophones.
“I think it’s being ignored because everybody recognizes that it’s about to be superseded,” Chambers said. “They have other problems and the supervision of these matters isn’t very energetically pursued, so as a community we need to stand up and say this isn’t alright.”
The CIUSSS Centre-Sud said in an email statement that it regrets the situation.
They added the hospital offers services to patients of all languages and they also have translators available when needed.
The Verdun Hospital is currently updating its access plan.
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