The new resonance unit was scheduled to be launched at the hospital in Zumarraga on 9 December. If the usual steps are taken, the resonance reports will only be in Spanish, and workers may not be vasco-speakers. The struggle of Dr. Aitor Montes to obtain reports in Euskera has reached the Basque chamber.

The resonance units are managed by Osatek, public bodies dependent on the Basque Government. According to the information held by the family doctor of Aramaio, Aitor Montes, all the resonance reports managed by this public body have been written in Spanish. Osatek is located in Las Arenas and Areilza (Bilbao), Galdakao, Txagorritxu, Donostia-San Sebastián and Santiago de Compostela. The unit of Zumarraga has just opened and Montes believes that it is easier to set up a new unit in Euskera than to begin to euskaldunify an existing structure.

For this reason, in recent days, UEMA and the municipalities of the counties of the Goierri-Alto Urola, members of the Commonwealth, have requested the establishment of the service in Euskera. The lehendakari of UEMA and several mayors have sent a letter to the managing director of Osatek reminding the words of the Basque Government Health Advisor Jon Darpón: “Ensuring people who come to Osakidetza the possibility of communicating in the most convenient and simple language is essential to achieve trust and empathy in the doctor-patient and family relationship and to provide quality service.” In the Goierri and Alto Urola there are ten municipalities members of UEMA, that is, more than 70% of the population is Euskaldun in the following municipalities: Arama, Altzaga, Itsasondo, Zaldibi, Gaintza, Ezdox-Itsaso, Segura, Zerain, Azpeitia and Beizama.

In addition to the request of UEMA and the municipalities outside UEMA, EH Bildu and PNV have requested that the new parliamentary unit of Zumarraga take steps to cater for citizenship in Basque. In the resonance unit there will be four types of jobs: radiologist, technician, assistant and secretary. In these places, the knowledge of Euskera is not mandatory, and the applicant who proves the knowledge of Euskera will be able to obtain a maximum of 5 points.

The family doctor of Aramaio, Aitor Montes Lasarte, has been in charge of starting the resonance unit in Euskera. This doctor, recently, along with the Arrasate Radiology Service in Aramaio, got the ultrasound reports bilingual.