Photo: Bret Kavanaugh / Unsplash
From “emboldening racists” to being “disrespected and excluded” – it seems everyone had an opinion on what language nurses in New Zealand hospitals should be speaking.
Three directives in hospitals to nurses to speak only English in clinical or public spaces have come to light this week.
Health New Zealand at first stressed this was for safety’s sake and to reduce confusion, but later tempered this to say it trusted staff to use their judgement.
The country’s health service increasingly relies on international nurses and doctors.
RNZ’s coverage of the directives prompted a flurry of listener and reader feedback which was divided firmly into those in favour, or against, the use of languages other than English.
Feeling threatened
One recalled their father who was dying of cancer feeling embarrassed and vulnerable while receiving a bed bath.
“Fully naked, while two Filipino nurses bathing him were laughing and chatting to each other in their language across his body as if he wasn’t there – or worse he worried they were laughing about him.”
A number of people shared similar experiences of feeling left out while either in hospital themselves, or with family members.
Christina said that feeling was nothing to do with prejudice or bias.
“I was recently in hospital with a family member and actually did feel ‘on the outer’… the dominant language being spoken by the health carers in the emergency area was not English – pretty difficult to follow what’s happening at the same time trying to maintain understanding what was going on.”
“Repeatedly, foreign nurses caregivers spoke in their own language to each other, in my presence while with my dying mother. It is unsettling and divisive. I could have well done without that,” Liz said.
“Medical staff should only ever ever speak English, te reo or sign language. I have experienced Asian nurses having conversations in their own language. I felt threatened as I didn’t know what they were saying. It is so unprofessional of them. If they choose to come to NZ they MUST speak English!!!!” another wrote.
One person who had been in and out of Wellington Hospital over past year, said they had complained when staff once spoke their own language in front of them.
“I felt disrespected and excluded. I complained and received an apology.
“I am supportive of nurses or hospital staff speaking their own language when away from patients, off the ward, or staff room.”
Nurses respond
And plenty of nurses voiced their opinions on the matter too.
Former nurse Sandy said they all used to speak English and it would be “highly offensive” if nurses were speaking a language a patient couldn’t understand while attending to them.
“I’m a nurse. The people I see who are English language speakers tell me they feel overlooked and disrespected when people speak other languages they don’t understand while in their presence and discussing their care. If we put the patient at the centre of care we need to use their language,” another said.
A senior nurse recently spending time with a family member at Waitakere Hospital said they didn’t hear English spoken in the three hours they were there.
“Dangerous, culturally intolerable – the irony is that so many OTNs have spent a fortune to learn English to a level that enables them to get onto a CAP course. In nursing communication is everything in providing safe care.”
‘Racist nonsense’
Plenty of people also felt the criticism of international nurses was unjustified, or racist.
“Another case of racism in New Zealand. I have been in hospital where staff have talked to each other in a common language, not English, and was thrilled that they could do that. They spoke to me in English. That is all I needed.” Julie said.
Di was grateful to all nurses.
“I think what’s really disrespectful is to be racist to those caring for you. I think the government are emboldening racists to be overt rather than covert. Us old white peoples need to speak up when our peers/family spout racist nonsense.”
HC’s father died in hospital last year and her mother was there now, they said if international nurses found some comfort speaking their own language so far from home they were happy with that.
Sally, who spent time in Waikato Hospital last year, said the care she received was outstanding.
“Sometimes staff speaking their first language can speed up processes. Kiwis need to get over this racist attitude and be thankful we have these amazing health workers propping up our fragile health system.
“We are a multicultural country where we hear many languages spoken in all sorts of settings. Embrace it and think about their comfort and not just your own,” she said.
After a recent hospital stay, Dee agreed. “I thought it was wonderful that our international nurses could communicate to each other in their own language. I thought this improved communication and safety. It should be encouraged not discouraged.”
Support for use of English
Finally, a health worker told RNZ this: “I work in a ward in a large North Island hospital. Clinical care of patients, medications etc must be discussed in a language the whole team understands because that is the only way potential and actual errors are picked up on.
“When staff are new to both the country, the specialist clinical area and the medications that are used in NZ hospitals there is an increase in mistakes (and yes, there has been a very significant increase in medication errors), which is a threat to patient safety.
“No one has a problem with staff speaking to each other in their first language if patients are not being discussed. And no one has a problem with staff addressing patients in their first language if that is also the first language of the patient. But that is not what is happening. Staff are walking into patient rooms and quite obviously discussing the patient in a language that the patient doesn’t understand.
“To add to an already complicated situation, patients in our clinical area have cancer and are incredibly vulnerable. Two patients and their whānau in particular wanted to complain about incidents, but felt unable to. The complaints process is not anonymous, the nurses involved would know who had complained and the patients were frightened of repercussions.
“They were also afraid of being accused of racism, as the charge nurse is the same ethnicity as the nurses involved (even though she leads with integrity and this wouldn’t have been an issue, the patients aren’t to know that).
“A colleague who did escalate a concern on behalf of a patient was herself accused of racism by the nurse involved (even though my colleague is also an internationally qualified nurse but a different ethnicity). I also escalated an issue on behalf of a patient to the nurse in charge of the shift. She refused to escalate it to the charge nurse because she was worried that it would be perceived as racist, even though it was a particularly serious complaint.
“There’s really nowhere to go with any of this, and it should be obvious to Dr Reti that if nurses had been using good judgement with regards to the appropriate use of their language in clinical settings we wouldn’t have this issue popping up all over NZ.”
RNZ (published with special permission from RNZ)
