Nurse have been directed not to speak in a language other than English in the staffroom of one major metropolitan hospital in South Australia. Flinders Medical Centre nurses were told via an email from the hospital’s nursing director Suzanne Foot, who heads intensive and critical care services, that “it is not appropriate to speak in a language other than English” in the staffroom. Hospital heads have distanced themselves from Ms Foot’s directive and said “we don’t condone this email and apologise to anyone who took offence”, while others have labelled the email “disappointing”. “If you are in the staffroom with only staff who speak a particular language and you choose to converse, that’s up to you, but I request that you stop when others enter the area,” the email to staff reads.
