A plan for the post-coronavirus hospital? Caregivers remain suspicious

• Wednesday night, live from Mulhouse where he visited the military hospital, Emmanuel Macron announced a massive plan for the hospital and bonuses for caregivers.
• Measures which seem for the moment very vague for a nursing staff called to the front and who has been asking for more resources for months, even years.
• But these announcements should be clarified in the coming days.

To the anonymous heroes, the grateful homeland ... From Mulhouse, the head of state saluted Wednesday evening "the memory of the carers who paid with their lives for their commitment, to save other lives. "

While Emmanuel Macron uses a warrior vocabulary, he has, for the first time since the start of the coronavirus crisis, promised major resources for the hospital. What reassure caregivers, who for some have been asking for an emergency plan for a year?

An investment plan and bonuses

The head of state announced Wednesday the establishment of a "massive investment and upgrading plan for all careers" at the hospital, promising to be "at the rendezvous of what we must ". "This response will be deep and lasting," he promised. Emmanuel Macron also assured that he had asked the government "to provide a clear and strong short-term response for all healthcare staff as well as for all civil servants mobilized, in order to increase the overtime worked and in the form of an exceptional bonus " It is "a little early" to know the amount of the bonus, but the government will work on it, told AFP a government source.

Little by little, the purse strings are untied. Thus, the Ministry of Labor announced this Thursday morning that an envelope of 11 million euros has been released "to come to the aid of student nurses and student nursing assistants called in to help nursing staff in hospitals in the region Grand-Est ”. Objective: to reduce the internship allowance for nursing students from 200 to 1,400 euros, and for nursing assistant students from 0 to 1,000 euros per month.

"Actions, not promises"

This announcement of a massive investment plan was long overdue by many caregivers. She was greeted on Twitter by Frédéric Valletoux, president of the Fédération hospitalière de France.

I welcome @EmmanuelMacron's announcement of a "massive investment plan" for the hospital and for upgrading hospital professions. This announcement is the recognition of what the Nation owes to those who care and take care. @laFHF will be proactive

But on the side of unions as well as collectives, the time is not yet to applause. "This is what we have been asking for years, we have the impression that it is Papa Noël arriving," quips François Bourdillon, federal secretary of the CGT Santé social action and medical regulation assistant at the Samu. These are announcements, what we expect are acts. "

Especially since some are already scalded by the three plans announced in 2019 to redesign the emergencies and help the public hospital, but "none corresponded to our expectations", blows Anne-Claire Afflegeau, a nurse member of the Inter-Emergencies collective . A distrust that François Bourdillon also explains by a discrepancy between the words spoken in front of the camera and the reality on the ground. Promised masks that take weeks to arrive in services, for example ... "The Minister of Health has assured that caregivers who fall ill with the coronavirus will obtain recognition as an occupational disease, but for the moment, we are still awaiting the official text …. "

Unions are calling for the government to significantly increase the National Target for Health Insurance Spending (Ondam). As a reminder, the progression of Ondam 2020, voted by the Social Security financing law, was + 2.3% for 2020, while health spending naturally increased rather by 4.4%. This requires savings (around 4 billion euros for this year) for hospitals and for city medicine. "We hope that a corrective law will increase this development to + 5%, to + 10% in the coming weeks," suggests François Bourdillon. For him, this massive plan is not an option. “The establishments suspend holidays, bring back staff, it comes at a cost. They will find themselves at the end of the year with colossal deficits. If we don't change the Ondam, which defines the hospital budget, it will be bankruptcy insured. "

Wage increase, not bonuses

Another subject of dissatisfaction: if the president has mentioned bonuses, the unions and the Inter-Emergency Inter-Hospital collectives have been asking for a salary increase for months. "We are asking for a lasting salary increase, he talked about it quickly but it is neither quantified nor dated," emphasizes Anne-Claire Afflegeau, member of the Inter-Urgences collective. The salary issue is in the balance to improve the attractiveness of our businesses. This is why the CGT, which should normally have a telephone interview with Olivier Véran on Friday, recalls that they are awaiting the opening of real negotiations.

Another question: "When he talks about bonuses and increased overtime for caregivers, who is it?" Worries Mireille Stival. Doctors, paramedics, firefighters, our workers and cooks without whom the hospital could not operate? But the demands of the unions and collectives go beyond salary demands. "We ask for capacity, equipment, staff", list Anne-Claire Afflegeau.

Ads arriving late

There is no doubt that Olivier Véran will clarify these rather vague announcements, probably this evening on the set of France 2 at 8 p.m. Or in the coming days. But the caregivers interviewed keep a bitter taste despite these promises. "We are paying the savings: over the past twenty years, 100,000 hospital beds have been closed in France, including 4,000 under this government, insists François Bourdillon. Macron is not criticized for being solely responsible, but we have alerted. We have been saying this for months: we need a moratorium on the closing of beds. We had the answer: "it's not possible". "

If some congratulate themselves all the same that the government has changed its speech, this turnaround comes late. The Inter-Urgences collective has filed a complaint against X for manslaughter, unintentional violence and deliberate endangering of the lives of others linked to Covid-19. "We will see after investigation who shares responsibility," she says. We hope that this action, in which citizens can participate, will speed up government decisions in its purchasing policies. We are always rationed in material. "

"It took a crisis that highlights the fragility of our health system for the government to finally make this kind of strong statement," regrets Mireille Stivala. The president said health care is priceless, she said. We take it at its word and we will verify how high we are going to finance our social protection system. "

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• Covid 19
• Coronavirus
• epidemic
• Emmanuel Macron
• Doctor
• Sickness
• Nurse