A Spanish-speaking Spanish-language patient at a hospital in New Delhi’s western suburb of Gurgaon has no English-language dictionary, a source told The Times Of India.
The patient, identified as “C,” was admitted to the Hospital of the National Capital Region (HNNRC) on July 15 after he did not speak any English.
The source said the hospital was not aware of his English proficiency.
The hospital, however, confirmed that the patient had no English language proficiency.
A hospital official said the patient was being monitored for his fluency and was undergoing an MRI.
Hospital officials said that the staff was unaware of his language proficiency and had been informed of it only through letters.
The official added that the hospital has been asked to conduct a manual translation of the patient’s notes in English.
“We have received no complaint regarding his inability to speak English,” said Dr Rajendra Prakash, director of the hospital.
Dr Prakush, who was also the hospital’s director, said he was unaware about the patient being unable to speak the language.
“The language of the Hospital is English.
I have no knowledge of the language of patients at HNNRC, Dr Prakusha said.
He said that HNNRRC was aware of the problem but had not communicated with the patient, adding that the official responsible for the hospital had not contacted the patient or been in touch with him since his admission.
He added that staff members had been instructed to teach the patient the language and the hospital would also provide the patient with a textbook in English and Spanish.
The hospital said that it was not the first time that the language barrier had been an issue.
The government had recently introduced a fluency test for foreigners at its hospitals and nursing homes.