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[VIDÉO] Very high voltage intensive care unit, recruitment campaign launched hastily in several hospital sites in Occitania, nursing and non-nursing staff put under pressure, beds closed and then finally “created” in recent weeks to best respond to the crisis of the Covid.
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It is an understatement to say that the year 2020, the hospital world has lived a chaotic year. Inventory of a sector at the end of its rope in more ways than one!
« We don’t work properly. We do our best. We manage the shortage ».
One could see in these words as a cry from the heart. It is rather a constant chilling, held by Rémy Ruiz, an experienced nurse anesthetist at the University Hospital of Montpellier.
He who has been working for several years within the vast Hérault hospital site, has been working with Covid patients from the start. ” The situation is very very complicated ” , recognizes the caregiver straight away, while some equivalent sites in France are already saturated. ” This is not the case in Montpellier. The CHU is not in a state of saturation “, Estimates, for his part, the thirty-something.
It is not because the Montpellier center is not in saturation that the situation there is more enviable than elsewhere. Quite the contrary!
« Here, we manage the situation as well as possible on a daily basis. We manage resuscitation as best we can. Similarly, for the management of Covid isolation, we do our best “. How does he see his work at the start of winter 2020? ” It’s simple. We manage the shortage. We talk to the general public about bed creations. But this is clearly not always the case. We do not create beds like that, just like that. I see more and more colleagues who crack mentally, morally or even sometimes physically »Coldly analyzes the nurse from Montpellier.
A little disconcerted by the working conditions of the nursing staff in Montpellier, Rémy Ruiz would like to stress that “ Contrary to the echoes that I hear from colleagues in other CHUs all over France, here, the General Manager, Thomas Le Ludec is clearly not an asshole! He does not send his teams to the fire at all costs. He is aware of the work that we are already doing on a daily basis. It’s already that. ». The nurse states that ” in a situation like this, the Director General must manage both the situation within the CHU, relations with the press, relations with the Regional Health Agency and also with the Ministry in Paris! “
Well aware that sooner or later, the Covid will be over and that a vaccine will eventually be found by American laboratories, Asians or others, the young man is already thinking about the post-coronavirus. Its opinion is decided: ” Today, we have been paying for hospital bed closures for a good ten years. And frankly, we pay particularly dear! »
« After all that, the hospital environment will have to be brought back to its true level. Everything will have to be done not to relive such a situation. “, Warns the CGT union representative before adding that” unfortunately, this does not take the path, because we have seen in the press that between the two Covid-19 waves, they (the ministry and the health authorities in Paris, editor’s note) continued to close beds, especially avoiding too much noise in the press! »
Urgent recruitments
In Béziers, in Montpellier, but also on the Rangueil site in Toulouse as elsewhere in France, announcements of recruitments of nursing assistants, nurses and other care functions in hospitals have flourished in recent weeks on social networks and in the media.
In Montpellier, from a reliable source, we recognize that the Hérault site is still looking for help. « Caregivers and graduate nurses are actively recruited. It’s even better if they have experience in the resuscitation sector », Confirmed a staff member, wishing to remain anonymous. This same source adds that ” maintenance agent positions are open and bio-cleaning specialists are also needed “. All the profiles recruited will work from the days following their hiring. ” As of November 20, 2020, no less than 178 new agents have officially been recruited and started working on the site“, Said the staff of the Montpellier University Hospital. Everything indicates that the recruitments are therefore far from over. Quite the contrary.
Proof of the gravity of the situation, ” work contracts were recently offered to Montpellier students in medicine to level off in certain positions, but only on a voluntary basis », Assures this same source. The management of the Montpellier CHU, for its part, sweeps away any recruitment to compensate for elements infected by the Covid. ” The recruitment plan put in place is necessary to ensure the scaling up of services welcoming Covid positive patients and only for that“, We assure the side of the hospital.
At the Béziers hospital center, the communication service acts as roadblocks and responds to the press, in lieu of general management. The situation is relatively identical. ” At the end of 2019, nearly 2,800 staff worked here on a daily basis, including 1,780 nursing assistants, nurses as well as 245 doctors, ”said the head of the press service before adding that“ today, we emergency search no less than 15 nurses and 15 nursing assistants »
As in Montpellier, we rule out the idea of replacing employees in the services, who are covid positive. « We are clearly not trying to replace infected staff. We especially want to allow the agents who are exhausted to rest, because the quantities of work are insane, really enormous and they are constant throughout this year 2020», We say on the side of the communication service of Béziers.
What future for this second confinement and the Covid crisis?
On the side of the Regional Health Agency, these last few hours are synonymous with a tiny glimmer of hope. Held by videoconference this Friday, November 20, the management of the Agency let it be known during its press briefing which has become weekly and reserved for the regional press that ” a decrease in pressure on the entire regional health system is observed« . « The drop in the number of positive cases over the last 7 days to 150 is the other rather positive point“, Said the Agency this weekend.
A ray of hope, immediately weigh it down, because at the same time, Agency officials announced that ” The overall situation remains worrying in the greater region. Significant disparities in the situation are noted. For example, the situation is below the global alert threshold in departments such as Aude, Ariège, Pyrénées-Orientales. But at the same time, the situation remains worrying in territories such as Gard, Hautes-Pyrénées and Lozère“, Detailed Vincent Drochon, leader of ARS Occitanie. ” We are only in the middle of the road. It is important not to relax the efforts, especially not“, Hammered the manager.
A call for caution and vigilance which is fully shared by Jacques Witkowksi, Prefect of Hérault for a little over 18 months.
Three questions to Laurent Ramon, Managing Director of Cap Santé and Clinique Saint Jean.
Movement : How is the Covid crisis going on the Clinique Saint-Jean site?
Laurent Ramon : « It is frankly not easy. We treat the patients we have. But, it must be recognized. We are on a slightly descending plateau. We are starting to see a drop in the number of patients. But, it remains very slow. You have to be very careful. We have welcomed several patients from Alès and Nîmes in recent days and we will continue to do so. We do not refuse any patient. I have in mind a patient from Gard whom we welcomed on Sunday and from whom I learned that he could be disintegrated this morning. This is good news for him and for us. Little by little, he gets better. But overall, yes, we are starting to see a slight improvement. But, we must clearly remain cautious and that everyone continues to respect barrier gestures as much as possible. “
L.M. : How do we manage on a daily basis in such a situation?
L.R. : « The Saint Jean clinic is a bit like the flagship of our group, Cap Santé. Of the 1000 people, employees and liberal professions who work in the Saint-Jean clinic, as of today, we have a little more than 120 people who work every day, and we must thank them, on Covid cases positive. Among them, there are 80 people in the intensive care unit. After that, there are about forty other agents who work and manage Covid Cases. And it starts with the Emergencies. Because every day, people come to the emergency room with certain symptoms. So we owe it to ourselves to welcome them. So our teams, also in the emergency room, are in contact with cases of Covid, where people who have one or more symptoms.
You should also know that when someone is hospitalized for a positive Covid case, it is about 15 days of hospitalization. It is a daily treatment. We watch them. Our caregivers work with them every five minutes.
L.M : We are talking about a possible gradual deconfinement, third wave, Christmas, “Black Friday”, reopening of shops for the end of year celebrations. As the manager of a major clinic in Montpellier, how do you see the coming weeks? Will we have a minimum Christmas?
L.R. : I believe that the businesses where the mask is worn should reopen and not just the toy stores. It’s important, because Christmas is coming, but hey… We should be able to go back to the hairdressers soon, for example, but being very careful. You have to go one client, one after the other. There will surely be a myriad of cautions and recommendations for the general public as the holiday season approaches.
If we prevent several people from getting together without a mask, then, in my opinion, there should not be a third wave. We all need conviviality, socialization… But this will come back only if, at first, we are as careful as responsible on a daily basis.«
Telephone interview conducted Thursday November 19 shortly before 9 a.m.
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