Language campaigners have announced today they are considering challenging the Welsh Government's decision to exempt primay care services, such as GP surgeries, from any duties to provide services in Welsh.   

In the fine details of a consultation launched a week ago, it was revealed the public would have no rights to use Welsh when dealing with their local doctors' surgery and other primary care services. The regulations say: "Where the third party is a primary care provider ... then no standards apply." 

The Welsh Language Commissioner, appointed four years ago, wrote her first report about concerns about the lack of Welsh language services in the health service which said: "I have been very concerned to hear of some worrying experiences that Welsh speakers and their families have had to face in not being able to access healthcare appropriate to their needs."  In another report, she made a specific recommendation to the Government stating: "As primary care is the first point of contact for the majority of the public in terms of the health service ... it is essential to ensure consistency in terms of linguistic behaviour across the health service in Wales..."  

In a letter to the Minister responsible for the Welsh Language, Manon Elin, rights spokesperson for Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg warns the Welsh Government there could be a legal challenge to its decision: 

"There are loopholes of massive importance to the Welsh language in these regulations. As they stand, there wouldn't be any rights for the public to interact [in Welsh] with their local surgery, which is the main point of contact with the health service in many cases. There are countless complaints about the lack of basic Welsh language services in primary care, from a lack of reception servies, a lack of Welsh speaking staff to a lack of Welsh language signs and websites." 

"Instead of strengthening people's rights to Welsh when dealing with their local surgery and other primary care services, your regulations leave ordinary people in a totally hopeless situation when it comes to dealing with the front line of the health service. 

"People use the health service when they are at their most vulnerable, so it's vital they can communicate in the language they feel most comfortable speaking. The Standards scarcely do anything to change the sitation because of your decision to weaken the present regulations which are already operating for councils, national parks and Welsh Government ...  

"We believe that you have not given due attention, as is required under the Welsh Language Measure (Wales) 2011, to two reports of the Welsh Language Commissioner regarding primary care when drafting this consutlation ... we believe that you have come to a completely unreasonable conclusion ... 

"These Standards are an opportunity to get to grips with the major problems with the lack of services and treatment provided through the medium of Welsh in the health service. However, this chance has not been taken to improve care... given that the proposed regulations exempt primary health services. The consutlations is going to effect thousands and thousands of people, some of them the most vulnerable in our society. We will therefore be considering every option we have in order to secure comprehensive rights in this vital area of life." 

As well as considering challenging the Government's proposals, Cymdeithas yr Iaith are encouraging people to respond to the Government's consultation which closes on 14th October 2016 by going to the Welsh Government website.