By Bernadette Ramel
Published on 17 Dec 20 at 8:52
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What there is to knowUpdated Dec 16. 2020
A psychiatric department at the Saint-Malo hospital, which has had up to 13 simultaneous work stoppages, will close for a month. Staff report deep unease. The South union demands the intervention of the Labor Inspectorate and calls for a strike in support of the agents, who speak of an “omerta of suffering at work”. As for the patients, they are transferred to other departments. According to management, this temporary closure will make it possible to anticipate the organization of the new psy hospital which is due to open in a year.
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A deep unease, within a Saint-Malo hospital psychiatry department, is now unveiled in broad daylight. This service – “psychiatry 1” located on the Broussais site – has counted up to 13 simultaneous work stoppages out of 22 staff.
From Friday, December 18, 2020, it will be closed for a month.
“Our suffering at work has not been heard”
A solution that does not satisfy the agents of the service that we were able to contact (who wished to remain anonymous), nor the Sud Santé union which supports them. A strike call was even launched, as well as a march from the hospital to the sub-prefecture where the demonstrators were to be received. An Internet petition has already collected more than 500 signatures.
“Since our words / evils are, in our experience, not hearable, that applause unfortunately more sufficient, we need your support”, it is written on the petition. The agents believe that “our suffering at work has not been heard”.
This suffering, they had first wanted to express it among colleagues, via a Messenger group which included 18 people from the service. In particular, it was a question of “writing together a letter for management,” several agents tell us. They, like others, also met the occupational psychologist.
A conversation on Messenger leaked
At the end of October, a specific fact set fire to the powder. Indeed, screenshots of the Messenger conversation – with “what was only a first draft of the letter” – “leaked”.
Four young nurses from the service – including three contract workers – were summoned “without reason, the day before for the next day”, explains Rachel Bédard, staff representative. “What they were accused of was not characterized. “
Since then, the officers concerned have had the conversation examined by a lawyer who told them that there was nothing defamatory.
The fact remains that all this has visibly “amplified” the discomfort in the service, to the point of also gaining the supervision. Sanctions have been called for. The four agents concerned are currently on sick leave.
Labor Inspectorate not seized
In view of the testimonies it has gathered, the Sud Santé union for its part launched a procedure of “solemn warning”, then “serious and imminent danger” on December 7. Hence the meeting of the CHSCT the next day.
It ended with “an unfavorable vote” on the measures envisaged by management. “This disagreement should have been followed by a referral to the Labor Inspectorate, which cannot intervene without this”, deplores Eric Adam, South union representative.
For its part, the management therefore chose the suspension of “psychiatry 1” (22 beds) which is one of the two “incoming” services of the mental health center.
This temporary closure – “which is by no means exceptional”, according to the secretary general of the Hospital Group Thierry Lugbull – was decided because it was becoming complicated to ensure good patient care and conditions. correct working conditions.
Interim use
Indeed, the absences “generated a discontinuity in the presence of trained personnel”.
“We had recourse to temporary work, even to reinforcements from other establishments, but at the end of the year we came to a difficulty: we needed sufficient staff in terms of skills and numbers”, explains Pascal Dufour, director of the mental health and geriatrics sector.
He acknowledges that there have recently been “tensions” in this service “which previously worked quite well”. “There are a lot of factors that can explain this,” believes the director of the Hospital Group, François Cuesta. In psychiatry, the personnel suffer a lot. “
In addition, “the service has seen many renewals of professionals, it requires time to adapt,” adds Pascal Dufour.
“Anticipate the organization of the new psychiatric hospital”
The service in question will reopen on January 18, but under a different configuration. It will be dedicated to young patients with anxiety-depressive syndromes (suicidal thoughts, for example). This is in accordance with the care project linked to the new psy hospital which is emerging from the ground in the Saint-Etienne district in Saint-Malo.
“We take advantage of this contextual situation to anticipate the new organization. Working groups are already in place and the project, which dates from five years ago, is being updated. “
Between now and January 18, “we will be asking each agent about their professional project”. An external audit “on our professional practices” is also announced.
19 patients discharged or transferred to another department
What about patients who have to change their place of hospitalization? “There are 19 of the 22 beds, some of which are outgoing,” says Pascal Dufour. They are therefore distributed, like the staff still present, in other departments. The management ensures that the support will not be degraded.
Staff and union, for their part, denounce “the risk of overcrowding the services welcoming patients in the closed unit, in turn leading to exhaustion, suffering, endangering professionals”. An “overcrowding” according to them unwelcome in the midst of the Covid-19 crisis.
A “solidarity march for our colleagues in psychiatry 1 suffering” is announced this Friday, December 18, 2020, from 4 pm, departure in front of the hospital towards the sub-prefecture.
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