Lack of staff at the hospital: Olivier Véran reveals alarming figures

Europe 1 with AFP 3:46 p.m., October 27, 2021, modified at 3:47 p.m., October 27, 2021

We knew it: hospitals lack manpower, and many beds are unused for lack of staff.

The Covid has accentuated the crisis.

And this can be illustrated in a few figures, which were communicated on Wednesday.

"The situation is complicated" in hospitals, in fact recognized the Minister of Health, Olivier Véran, who mentions "an increase of nearly a third of vacant positions among paramedics compared to the fall of 2019", in an interview with 

 Wednesday.

Hospital: units close "for lack of caregivers, for lack of being able to recruit"

"We have just carried out a probe in sixteen CHUs and indeed, if we extrapolate the data, we see an increase of nearly a third of vacant positions in paramedics compared to the fall of 2019", details the Minister, adding that "a certain number of units in hospitals are forced to close temporarily, or to reduce the wing, for lack of caregivers, especially for lack of being able to recruit".

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Olivier Véran also notes an increase in absenteeism "of a little less than one point over the same period for non-medical personnel", as well as resignations, but "in moderate proportions". In addition, between 2018 and 2021, a little more than a thousand nursing students in training "resigned before the end of their studies" and "an investigation will be launched" so that we "understand the reasons".

The Hospital Federation of France (FHF) had reported, on October 20, "an absenteeism rate of around 10%" and "2 to 5% of vacant nursing posts" within hospitals and public medico-social establishments.

And in its opinion of October 5, the Scientific Council reported "a significant percentage of closed beds amounted to about 20%" despite an "already significant and increasing use of overtime and temporary work".

Nurses, radio technicians ... Five professions in tension

These data collected "from the large hospital structures of the country in the largest French regions" also highlight "a large number of vacant jobs with in particular 5 professions in tension": nurses, operating room nurses, nurse anesthetists, medical technicians. radiology and physiotherapists. At the end of September, a DREES study indicated that at the end of December 2020 hospitals recorded 5,700 more closed full hospital beds than at the end of December 2019.

"The situation is complicated, but I refuse fatalism", says Olivier Véran, assuring to be aware "that the most serious current problem", it is "the degraded working conditions because of the understaffing".

"I am convinced that France has taken a new direction in terms of hospital policy," he continues.

"All the levers are activated to give meaning to the care professions. We are done with the dogma of closing beds."