"A colleague was spit on": the fed up of laboratory staff

REPORTAGE

The coronavirus epidemic is starting again and the French are flocking to get tested.

While there is an outbreak of new cases (more than 13,000 between Thursday and Friday), more and more worried and panicked patients are attacking the medical profession.

This situation is reminiscent of that which pharmacists faced at the start of the pandemic.

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In Tourcoing, in the biocentre laboratory, incivility and verbal aggressions are multiplying, both at reception and on the phone.

"We have a colleague who was spit on because the patient had not received his result on time […] it becomes our daily life", note Elodie and Hélène, medical secretaries, at the microphone of Europe 1. " It seems that the patients are more and more in a hurry, while we are doing the maximum. We can not do better. "

Laboratory manager ... or security guard?

That day, in front of the entrance to the laboratory, ten people lined up.

Equipped with his white coat and his mask, the manager Mouloud Hammad now manages the entrances.

In fact, his role is also similar to that of a security guard.

He monitors patients so that they stay within the safety distance of one meter.

"If we don't do that, it will degenerate on our secretaries and our staff," he blurted out.

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Tensions are often caused by the time it takes to make an appointment for a PCR test.

It usually takes four days, which is considered too long for patients who wish to travel.

"We try to make them understand that we are not animals, that we are not at their service. For us it is not easy either", explain the two medical secretaries.

Everyone feels they have priority, whereas in this laboratory the delay is 10 minutes maximum.