The family of a caregiver from a Rhône nursing home, Patricia Boulak, who died of coronavirus Friday April 24 a month after being diagnosed positive, has filed a complaint against X with the court of Belfort. Relatives there denounce a "disastrous" crisis management on the part of the Rhone establishment during the confinement.
>> LIVE - Coronavirus: follow the evolution of the situation Monday June 15
In their complaint against X for "manslaughter", "endangering the life of others" and "failure to assist a person in danger", which Europe 1 was able to consult, the family of Patricia Boulak considers that the management of the La Rosemontoise establishment, in Valdoie, in the Rhône, did not take any measures to ensure the safety at work of the caregiver who nevertheless presented pathologies - diabetes and hypertension - making her particularly vulnerable to the coronavirus.
The toilet of an infected, unprotected resident
The complaint refers in particular to a meeting dated March 17, 2020, the day after the confinement, which reported the instructions sent by the management of the nursing home in violation of the recommendations of the High Council of Public Health. "The wearing of protective masks is prohibited to avoid any situation of psychosis within the establishment, employees benefiting from sick leave are invited to return to their jobs even before the end of said sick leave. No specific measures were taken concerning employees with pathologies. "
Two days later, Patricia Boulak confided to her sisters that she had been "forced to wash a resident with Covid-19 without any protective equipment to guarantee his safety even though he he couldn't respect the barrier gestures. " The caregiver was still at her post on March 21 when she presented the first symptoms of Covid-19. Five days later, she tested positive for the disease. She died in hospital a month later, on April 24.
An establishment placed under supervision on April 6
The caregiver's sisters point out that the management of the nursing home had been pointed out several times since the beginning of the year. As of January 21, 2020, the mayor of Valdoie sent a letter to Agnès Buzin, then Minister of Solidarity and Health, to alert him to the lack of resources made available to nursing staff within the Résidence La Rosemontoise, which welcomes 115 residents.
CORONAVIRUS ESSENTIALS
> Schools, taxes, fight against racism ... What you should remember from Emmanuel Macron's speech
> Coronavirus: 5 mistakes not to make with your mask
> Coronavirus: three initiatives that will disrupt our beach habits
> Between empty TGV and TER at a discount, SNCF is preparing for a bad summer
> Can we catch the coronavirus on a plane?
On April 6, the residence was finally placed under guardianship. The president of the Departmental Council explained this decision "by the existence of difficulties in supervision and management and, on the other hand, by the observation of dysfunctions in the implementation of measures to protect against the pandemic", specifies the complaint. He noted that "the management did not take the measure of the gravity of the situation". Guardianship was extended on June 8 by the Regional Health Agency.
The management of the establishment in the health crisis has already been the subject of two complaints. The first, filed by the mayor of Valdoie for "manslaughter, endangering the life of others and failure to assist a person in danger" was dismissed by the Belfort prosecutor's office on a question of form. The second was filed by the son of a resident who died in the nursing home on March 28.