Poor kid

I’m drawn to one of the two comments that calls for welsh Morrisons staff to be bilingual.

I can guarantee there were welsh speaking employees in that store.
I just cannot believe the pharmacy did not ask one what the prescription said.

I really can’t see the point in trying to resurrect a language that was pretty much dead and buried. Having two languages in a country where by far the majority of the population only speak one of them, and expecting the use of either to be equally valid, is ridiculous. (Not that it really matters but this is coming from someone who can speak Welsh.)

I could understand if it was purely in welsh, the pharmacist might be on shakes legal grounds accepting a translation from a non-medically certified person, but

The prescription was bilingual

. This maybe just that the pharmacist thought it was addition instructions (in the welsh) he/she couldn’t understand

The Pharmacist is the person legally responsible for issuing the contents of the script, and if he accepted a welsh speakers account of the contents, then he would still be responsible for any fault in the translation,if in doubt pass it on to someone else , as their problem, other chemists are available in Bangor, some who can speak welsh.

The prescription was bilingual

It isn’t.

Standard problem all over Wales tbh. The law just states that you have the right to use Welsh, the shop can cover their backsides by having a Welsh-speaker available if required. I have a bit of sympathy with the store as Bangor attracts a lot of English students, some who settle there so most likely the assistant just saw a load of gibberish where there is probably a rule saying instructions have to be written for the prescription to be issued.

It’s a pain having EVERY form from the council/docs/DVLA etc duplicated in Welsh at a huge cost just for it to go in the bin. Have the option by all means but don’t force it on everyone!!

Bangor is a town where Welsh is widely spoken.
Welsh speaking doctors are common. They like to write in their mother tounge in their mother land.
Morrisons have welsh signs in the store.
Welsh speaking staff.
The pharmaceutical department should understand this.

It’s a pain having EVERY form from the council/docs/DVLA etc duplicated in Welsh at a huge cost just for it to go in the bin. Have the option by all means but don’t force it on everyone!!

What about all the legitimate immigrants in this country? Who pays for all their languages?

So the dispensing chemist wasn’t confident that the script was clear enough to dispense, asked the patient’s representative to have it clarified, she did and she got the meds.

And the point is?….

That morrisons had placed an incorrect dispensing chemist.Either the chemist should be able to read welsh or have the nounce to call the prescribing GP if there was a problem.

Now if the pharmacist had incorrectly prescribed despite not understanding the script then maybe there would be a story.

Agreed they could have called the GP.

But have you ever tried calling one?

really can’t see the point in trying to resurrect a language that was pretty much dead and buried

Hmm. Not everyone agrees with you 🙂 How’s your German btw?

Anyway it is very common all over Europe to have multiple languages. Actually no, all over the world. It’s only in Britain that anyone seems to consider it an issue from what I can tell. Or other Anglophone countries.

Ok danke.
Ich lerne Deutsch jeden Dienstag und Donnerstag in der VHS hier in Wien
Many English speakers are of the impression that the whole world speaks english why should they bother learning a foreign language. That’s quite sad really.

I am quite impressed with how the article tries to infer that the delay caused him to be admitted to hospital when it is not at all clear that was the case – he had got the prescription before he was admitted.

The article is more aimed at the fact that a welsh script in a predominately welsh town in Wales does not have a pharmacist who is able to read it.
I agree that the admitted bit is daft.

I use Morrisons Bangor and Welsh is very much used by most of the staff. I speak welsh to staff when I go in there.

So do I. This is why the story caught my eye.

Many English speakers are of the impression that the whole world speaks english why should they bother learning a foreign language. That’s quite sad really.

I’m not really sure that’s true. I just can’t see any reason why an English speaker would choose to learn Welsh.

My other half is English and is learning slowly. My Daughter is 7 and I want her to speak Welsh.

I love that thing that my English workmates always say. ‘I walked into a pub in wales and they all started to speak welsh’ It’s a classic I always hear!

If you are English and decide to settle in Wales you may struggle to get work in certain areas. If you went to live somewhere that has a native language why wouldnt you have the desire to learn the language or even some key words or phrases?

But have you ever tried calling one?

Can you afford to – it cost 4 times more to be on hold to my local GP surgery than I pay per minute for a private consultation.

My other half is English and is learning slowly. My Daughter is 7 and I want her to speak Welsh.

It’s great to be multi-lingual, and I know it’s been said before, but maybe consider teaching her a more useful language as well. French, German, Italian, Chinese, any of these would be of far more use to me than the Welsh I have.

Also steer clear of teaching subjects other than Welsh in Welsh, that’s a great way of making problems for your kids in the longer term.

Writing on Facebook Harley’s dad, Aled, said: “It’s a shameful thing in our country that we can’t use our own language.

in english, oh the ironing 🙄

I just can’t see any reason why an English speaker would choose to learn Welsh.

In order to speak to relatives in their native tongue?

If you are English and decide to settle in Wales you may struggle to get work in certain areas. If you went to live somewhere that has a native language why wouldnt you have the desire to learn the language or even some key words or phrases?

This. As an immigrant to the Basque Country I can speak to anyone in Spanish but 30% of the population speak Euskara as their mother tongue, so why wouldn’t I learn at least some basics? It’s a common courtesy IMO and as you get into the boonies then a lot of signage etc is only in Basque.