On April 28, my husband had his sixth session of physiotherapy at Saint James Hospital, in Sliema. As he went in, he found an Eastern-like lady with two other foreigners who looked like hospital staff.

When the physiotherapist started speaking to my husband in English and he informed her he can only speak Maltese, she started arguing with him in English and he called me on my mobile and told me to speak to her in English. I explained to her he cannot speak English and asked her whether it was possible to call in a carer or a nurse who could speak Maltese.

She answered me back rudely, saying she cannot do the treatment my husband badly needed if he cannot speak English and, most importantly, there was no chance of calling in a Maltese-speaking nurse or carer as there was no staff member in the hospital who could speak Maltese.

I could not believe what I had just heard: no Maltese-speaking staff in a Maltese hospital.

In the meantime, I told my husband to leave the hospital and he complained to the receptionist on duty who did speak Maltese. My husband felt degraded and discriminated against by the bad-mannered physiotherapist.

That evening, the hospital’s chief, who also happens to be a foreigner, called me to apologise and offered us a full refund for all the six sessions as a form of compensation. A week later, she changed her mind about this offer and all she could do was apologise.

We are not after any kind of money compensation. What happened is disgraceful to us Maltese and we hope no one would have to experience what my husband went through in a so-called Maltese hospital.