Mayors call for better service for Dutch-speaking patients

The mayors of Overijse and Tervuren, just outside of Brussels, are urging for a stricter language policy for emergency service workers in and around the capital. Dirk Brankaer and Jan Spooren want to make it required for ambulances from Brussels hospitals to have at least one Dutch-speaking paramedic on board, writes Het Laatste Nieuws.

The mayors became aware of the language problem after a visit to the emergency call centre 112 in Leuven. "Complaints just keep coming in from residents of the four communes of the Grape Region,” Spooren told the newspaper, referring to Hoeilaart, Overijse, Tervuren and Huldenberg. “It happens too often that there are only Francophone paramedics available during an emergency, a time when it is crucial for people to be able to speak their own language... This is unacceptable, because it leads to delays and communication problems which could be life-threatening."

"In addition, residents of these communes are automatically sent to a Brussels hospital, where they are often faced with physicians and nursing staff that only speak French," Brankaer added. "According to the language legislation in Belgium, Brussels hospitals must guarantee a bilingual service, but in practice this is not always the case."

"As a rule, residents can always ask to be sent to a hospital where Dutch is the primary language, provided that the trip is no more than 10 minutes longer than the trip to another hospital. This rule provides a solution for most locations in the Grape Region, but many people don't know about it, so we will work on increasing awareness.”