http://www.vocaleurope.eu/language-barriers-right-health-european-union/

Artikulu honetan OEEren kidea den Xabier Zarandonak, baita Iñigo Jacak ere, biak ICECen kideek, azaltzen dute estatuek tokian tokiko hizkuntzatan artatzen ez duten osasun-langileak jartzean, herritar horiek desabantaila nabarmenean uzten dituztela.

Horretarako Estatu Batuetan ingelesa menperatzen ez duten pazieengan gertatzen den estatistika bat aipatu dute non komunikazio-arazoek osasun-arretan kalte handia dakarrela ikusten den, datu zehatzekin.

Hemen mendeak daramatzagu horrela, euskaldunek osasun-zerbitzuetan gure hizkuntzan askotan ezin eginez eta kalitate baxuagoa eskuratuz.

3.8million refugees and immigrants arrived in the EU in 2014. The migratory flow is expected to stay at 1.5 million people/year until 2036.

Besides language and cultural barriers, the migrant population suffers from social isolation, therefore their first health contact tends to be urgent care.

The physician-patient communication is an essential element in ensuring adequate healthcare, both to make diagnosis and initiation of treatment. If the patient does not understand the doctor’s language, the adherence to treatment, preventive measures will fail, and as a consequence results are not obtained. It has been shown that people with lack of knowledge of the dominant language receive less and poorer healthcare, than those who know the local language.

Authors: Iñigo Jaca and Xabier Zarandona. They are both medical doctors in public hospitals and members of ICEC EH.
In some European territories, where the States did not impose the requirement on the medical officers to know the co-official languages, patients have also suffered from the effects of language barriers (Basque Country, Catalonia, etc.). Communication is not just oral, it is also about gestures and also offers the interpretation of the silences. The lack of knowledge of a language poses an insurmountable barrier to indulge in a relationship guided by emotions, affections, and information, which hardly can be replaced by a non-professional translator or a family member.

...