I once blogged about the language barrier between my mum and the medical staff of a hospital and opined that this barrier is the result of the "No Dialect" policy implemented by our gahmen in the 70s. If you have been following the news lately, you would have heard about the recent case of a doctor at the Polyclinic who caused the death of an elderly woman with a wrong dosage of medication. The doctor apparently speaks no dialect.
The case has open a floodgate of letters to the forum, with many ST readers complaining that their elderly parents and grandparents have had similar problem communicating with non-dialect speaking doctors at the Polyclinic. One of the two public health clusters, the National Healthcare Group (NHG), in its attempt at damage-control, revealed that it conducts regular courses on Mandarin and Malay (to their medical stuff). Mandarin and Malay? How is this addressing the issue, when many of the elders speak no mother-tongues but their own dialects? My mum, like many people her age, can't speak Mandarin. It seems to me that the NHG is barking up the wrong tree. But of course, providing dialect courses (which should be the obvious solution) to the medical staff would be going against the policy of the gahmen's "Speak Mandarin Campaign".
I have problem understanding the "Speaking Mandarin" policy. I'm not quite sure the rationale behind this policy (I was only a child back then). Was it to prepare us to take on the Dragon? Or was it to gel the Chinese of different dialect groups in Singapore. If it's the latter, then perhaps we should take a leaf from the Taiwanese on how they manage their language policy. Predominantly, they are Hokkien. They speak flawless Mandarin, and yet are conversant in their own dialects from kids to 92. And we do not see the various dialect clans breaking up and feuding. What did the Taiwanese do that we didn't?
We're so used to hearing foreign dignitaries and diplomats telling our leaders that "we want to learn from Singapore how you manage this or that". Perhaps it's time we return the compliment?
Category: Policies
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8 comments:
I cannot agree with this statement of yours about the Taiwanese: "Predominantly, they are Hokkien. They speak flawless Mandarin." Just listen to how Chen Shui Bian speaks. He sounds like he is speaking both Hokkien and Mandarin at the same time.
All the while I think if the patient can't understand the dialect, a nurse will help out. Usually patients who only speaks dialects have someone accompany them.
amendment - patient in line 1 should be doctor
I don't think the language problem is a big issue. It has always been there. The problem of work overload is more serious. So one problem leads to another. And that's how accidents normally happens
Vic - At least Ah Bian's Mandarin is grammatically correct. Most of us can't help our accent. We Singaporeans can also speak perfect English. But there's no running away from our accent. And I'm not talking about Singlish.
Frannxis - you're so wrong. In the polyclinic, no nurse is assigned to chaperon the doctor. I can vouch for this - my wife is a woman in white :P
Chun See - that's a simplistic way of looking at things. Aren't we all suffering from "work overload"? Overworked or not, the doctor made a mistake by prescribing an over dosage because she didn't understand what the elderly woman was saying. Plain and simple.
It's the same problem across the causeway too. Doctors should be more alert and have an acute sense of intuition to get through is language mangle.
Its not simplistic; its elementary Chris. When people are tired and stressed they make mistakes. That's why in NZ, drivers are not permitted to work more than certain no. of hours.
Remember the case of the bus that knocked down 2 young girls in Henderson Rd a couple of years ago. The driver was sleepy. Tiredness, plus work stress, plus short handedness, plus lots of pressure to meet KPI's (you civil servants shd know this one) +++ make the a person careless and forgetful and not checking something he/she would otherwise have checked.
I didn't say language is not a problem. But it is a problem we have always had, and will always continue to have. It is not the main problem.
Saw your point, Chun See. In this instance, the doctor would have made the same mistake even if she's not under stress. But ya, I do agree with you that STRESS is the main cause of accidents at the workplace (and home), and that language would always be a problem.
My kids speak rather good Hokkien, all thanks to my mum. If only most of us could tap on this very valuable resource.
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