The medical phrase book that nobody saw … multilingual guide to help Hong Kong’s ethnic minority patients forgotten and unused

Former official blames poor communication among government departments for demise of handy guide printed in 2005

Hospital Authority urged to update booklet and distribute it

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John Dean helped compile a multilingual guide for ethnic minority patients in public hospitals more than a decade ago. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Published: 9:00am, 27 Jan 2019Updated: 9:32am, 27 Jan 2019

An official multilingual phrase book designed to help non-Chinese and non-English speakers in medical emergencies has been forgotten and unused for more than 10 years, the Post has found.

The booklet’s quick decline into oblivion highlighted a government flaw where different departments did not bother to work together to solve social problems, said a former official at the Home Affairs Bureau, who oversaw its production.

“We were hoping for feedback from hospitals, doctors … and we would develop [the phrase book] accordingly. But we never did,” said John Dean, a former principal assistant secretary for home affairs.

“My staff were telling me that they were getting no cooperation from [the] health and welfare [bureau],” he said.

The Post’s discovery comes at a time when complaints are rife about ethnic minorities in Hong Kong facing language barriers in public hospitals, with some unaware of their health conditions even after decades of hospital follow-ups.

Dean said the situation was worse back in 2005, when the Race Relations Unit under his supervision published the Multilingual Phrasebook for Emergencies. Doctors and nurses were expected to use the booklet for the initial stage of emergency inquiries to buy more time for arranging interpretation.

Calls have been made to update the medical booklet and redistribute it, as Hong Kong’s ethnic minority population grows. Photo: Fung Chang

The medical phrase book that nobody saw … multilingual guide to help Hong Kong’s ethnic minority patients forgotten and unused

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;}Former official blames poor communication among government departments for demise of handy guide printed in 2005 Hospital Authority urged to update booklet and distribute it

Former official blames poor communication among government departments for demise of handy guide printed in 2005

Hospital Authority urged to update booklet and distribute it