The health pass at the hospital “will create unnecessary tension”, said Friday August 6 on franceinfo Christophe Prudhomme, doctor at Samu 93, spokesperson for the Association of emergency physicians of France, and member of the CGT Santé management, while Sud Santé and the CGT called for a national strike against the vaccination obligation and the health pass. For Christophe Prudhomme, that the Constitutional Council “did not invalidate this decision to impose sanitary passage on patients” akin to a “refusal of treatment”. If there is “some anti-vaccines”, among caregivers, “they are very much in the minority”, also assures the emergency physician. “The problem is the method used by the government which shocks caregivers”, emphasizes Christophe Prudhomme.
franceinfo: Do you understand the calls to strike?
Christophe Prudhomme: Absolutely. Of course, caregivers need to be vaccinated. But the obligation was very badly felt by the caregivers. Caregivers were forced to work when they tested positive. We explained to them that by respecting barrier gestures, there was no risk of infecting patients. We had to keep working. Another subject worries us. I am quite surprised that the Constitutional Council did not invalidate this decision to impose the health pass on patients who come for scheduled appointments at the hospital. It is almost a refusal of care. And who will manage access to the hospital? What is the qualification of the security guard to verify that the patient can or cannot enter the hospital? It is completely irresponsible on the part of the Constitutional Council to have validated this measure. And it is particularly surprising that the Minister of Health, who is himself a doctor, imposed this measure which is contested, including by the Council of the Order of Physicians.
Are you worried that the implementation of this measure will create complications?
This will create unnecessary strain in the hospital. Today the hospital is a pressure cooker. The staff are very annoyed at being mistreated by the government. The Segur has not settled anything. The statistical service of the ministry just released data yesterday which shows that the number of staff at the hospital decreased in 2017 and 2018. We are still awaiting the figures for 2019 and 2020. These are the figures of the ministry: -0, 3% of staff at the hospital in 2017, -0.4% in 2018. This is one of the reasons why the hospital today is in difficulty. So, we should have a little more kindness and listening on the part of the government for the demands of the personnel who were present even before the epidemic.
Will the caregivers come for the vaccination?
Yes, the caregivers will come there. Caregivers are representative of the population. We have some anti-vaccines, but they are very much in the minority. The problem is the method used by the government which shocks the caregivers, it is not the objective. I work in Seine-Saint-Denis. The problem is that the poor, and especially the older poor, are less well vaccinated than the rich. In my department, we have a vaccination rate of the population, and in particular the population over 80, which is particularly at risk, which is much lower than the national average. It would be good if the government focused on these holes in the racket which are denounced including by the World Health Organization. France is not the good pupil of vaccination.
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