- To deal with a health disaster or a large-scale epidemic, France has, among other things, a "health reserve".
- These health professionals, volunteers, can be mobilized throughout France to support other caregivers.
- Who are they ? How are they mobilized? What are they doing in the fight against the coronavirus? "20 Minutes" takes stock.
How can we mobilize nurses, psychologists and radiologists overnight to have thousands of tests and treat hundreds of patients in the event of an epidemic or even pandemic of coronavirus? Caregivers, volunteers, can leave their functions and leave for a specific mission very quickly in the event of a disaster or health emergency: they are part of what is called the "health reserve".
20 Minutes takes stock of this device, already used, which could prove very useful in the weeks to come.
Who can be a reservist?
Doctors, nurses, pharmacists, midwives, psychologists, but also non-nursing hospital staff (managers, engineers) can be part of this "health reserve". It is made up of active voluntary health professionals - who work in the public, private, liberal - but also retirees and interns and pharmacy students. "The constitution of the reserve must take into account the diversity of resources and match the profiles to the missions", specifies this document from the Ministry of Health. Public Health France, which oversees this system, specifies that this commitment does not require any particular physical preparation. And it is enough, to join this health reserve, to register on a platform.
In which cases are we calling on reservists?
Several cases: epidemic infectious phenomena (influenza, chikungunya, dengue fever, or, as is currently the case, the new coronavirus), extreme and lasting climatic situations (heat wave, very cold) likely to cause tensions on the care offer. Other situations, where this time the response must be faster: technological accident, terrorist action.
These professionals provide support in hospitals, for marauding, vaccination campaigns, for urgent telephone answers or for medical assistance to returnees.
Who decides to mobilize the health reserve?
If it is Public Health France (which replaced in 2016 the Institute of health monitoring) which organizes this device, to mobilize it, a request must be made by the Ministry of Health, another ministry (Business Foreign, Defense, etc.), or a regional health agency. How does it work then? No reservist is obliged to leave immediately. "When a mission is triggered, an urgent call for applications - an" alert "- is sent by Public Health France, by email, to all the reservists of the profession or professions sought, specifies the health authority. The call for candidates presents precisely the mission, the scheduled departure date or dates, the professional skills sought, the aptitude conditions that may be required. ". How many are there in all? Around 3,500, according to our colleagues from LCI.
Are they already mobilized?
Yes, since a decree published on January 30 in the Official Journal . Which specifies that the Minister of Solidarity and Health had then mobilized the health reserve up to 50 reservists, from January 25, 2020 for a period of 4 weeks renewable once. This contingent has evolved since then. In this interview published on the Public Health France site, Catherine Lemorton, head of the health reserve, explains that in the context of the coronavirus, the ministry assigned two missions to the 700 reservists who volunteered: to inform and welcome returnees from China , whose reservists provide medical and psychological follow-up. A team of reservists was indeed sent to Carry-le-Rouet (Bouches-du-Rhône), an area where the French were kept in quarantine for fourteen days and where the former minister, Agnès Buzyn, welcomed their commitment.
How are they organized?
Santé Publique France points out that two teams operate differently. A first, which informs people from China at Roissy, is made up of three doctor / nurse pairs, which take turns on the arrival times of the planes (4:30 am to 9:30 am and 3:30 pm to 7:30 pm). A second is mobilized "for the reception of our nationals and their follow-up during the 14 days of confinement. The teams are made up of 3 doctors, 3 nurses, 3 psychologists, 3 hygienists, 1 epidemiologist and 1 head of mission adviser. Sixty health reservists take turns 24/7 for one of the sites, 2 doctors, 2 nurses, 2 psychologists, 1 epidemiologist and 1 head of mission referent for the other site ”, specifies the head of the health reserve.
Measures which could be amplified if the number of cases of coronavirus increased in France. This is not the case at the moment, since the Minister of Health announced Monday that France no longer has any patient hospitalized because of the coronavirus.
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