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Covid-19. The situation in retirement homes is deteriorating

The epidemic situation in retirement homes “Continues to deteriorate”, and the “Four to six weeks to come will be difficult”, warned, Tuesday, November 10, the main union of private establishments, which is also alarmed by serious staffing problems.

“The situation has been tense since October 20”, with a multiplication of clusters and a “Acceleration of deaths” since the week of October 26, underlined Florence Arnaiz-Maumé, the general delegate of Synerpa.

74 deaths per day in establishments and 36 in hospitals

According to the latest data published Monday by Public Health France, the average number of deaths per day in medico-social establishments (that is to say especially nursing homes) has experienced a ” huge increase “ since mid-October: while it remained below 5 deaths per day from June to August, this indicator reached 74 deaths per day in establishments and 36 in hospitals during the week of October 26 to November 1.

Despite these alarming figures, the situation is still “Controlled”, tempered Florence Arnaiz-Maumé, in particular because the establishments are now well equipped with protective equipment – unlike what happened during the first wave of the epidemic.

In addition, the medical care of Covid-19 patients has improved, according to her: hospitalizations are less often necessary, and when they are, they are easier to implement than in March / April. , thanks to a reorganization of the geriatric services, she underlined.

Regular tests possible

The other big difference with the first wave is that establishments can now widely and regularly test residents and staff, observed Florence Arnaiz-Maumé – especially since PCR tests have recently been added antigenic tests, which allow a very quick result.

Facing the“Acceleration” notable of the epidemic, the main difficulty facing the elderly sector is that of a lack of staff, pointed out Florence Arnaiz-Maumé.

“We are in maximum tension, and we have no solution”, she summed up. In a sector that was already struggling to recruit before the pandemic, one of the difficulties is that caregivers, even asymptomatic, must be placed in isolation and stop work for a week as soon as they test positive.

Train “gerontology coaches”

Faced with the shortage of professionals, the government asked the prefects at the end of October to launch a “Emergency recruiting campaign” in the old age sector.

However, according to Synerpa, the solution will also have to pass through a training reform. Rather than desperately looking for nursing aides, according to this professional union, “Gerontology companions”, a new profession that would be “More oriented on ‘taking care’ than on ‘care'”.

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