The City Hall of Etxarri Aranatz and the Commonwealth of Basque Municipalities have asked Osasunbidea to ensure that the two family doctors working in the Etxarri Aranatz health centre are vasco-speakers. The Mayor, Silvia Marañón, and IRAITZ Lazkano, president of UEMA, have presented a letter calling for measures to be taken to ensure health care in Basque and respect for the linguistic rights of users.

Last February UEMA presented an appeal to the call for employment for these jobs. In fact, there are two medical posts in the health centre of Etxarri Aranatz, but none of them have a linguistic obligation, despite the fact that Etxarri Aranatz is a municipality in Euskaldunes.

The patient as the axis

Foral Law 18/1986 expressly recognizes “the right to use both Basque and Spanish in relations with public administrations and to be received in the official language they choose”. This legal obligation directly affects the health service.

Although they did not need to know Euskera, the two doctors who have worked so far knew it. One of them is no longer working and the news they have brought does not know Euskera. Therefore, citizens are not guaranteed the possibility of receiving the service in Euskera, and they have complained about it.

“We know that [the new physician] has a legal right to occupy this position and that the problem is not yours,” explained UEMA and the City Hall of Etxarri Aranatz. However, they have recalled that the patient is the central axis and to ensure the linguistic rights of users, they have asked Osasunbidea to have the two family doctors be Basque.