The scandal raised by the book The Gravediggers will it be life saving? The invitation this Tuesday of Philippe Charrier, new CEO of the Orpea group, replacing Yves Le Masne (sacked Sunday), by Brigitte Bourguignon, will perhaps be the first stage of a global questioning. Among the actors concerned, caregivers hope to see their profession revalued. In more ways than one.
“In all this story, we must not forget the suffering of the staff who experience this on a daily basis”, wrote on Twitter Nathalie, caregiver in a retirement home in Vendée. If she feels “relieved” that the case is making so much noise in the media, she fears to see the status of caregivers pushed under the rug, stifled by the other aspects of the case: “Because we too, we’re drooling,” she insists.
The lack of manpower, at the root of all the problems
Paule*, caregiver in a private Ehpad “similar to Orpea”, also expects a lot from this highlighting: “It’s very simple, we are short of arms. This is the root of most of our problems. Meals served cold, care sometimes rushed, patients who wait for hours with a soiled diaper, abuse… For the caregiver, the solution is to recruit: “What we lack is time, because that we have to take care of too many patients at the same time, so we have to do everything very quickly and have to prioritize. »
An observation shared by Denis Fischer, vice-president of the National Federation of Associations of Nursing Assistants (Fnaas): “The staff/patient ratio is far too low to provide optimal quality of care. » To restore the workforce in accordance with the needs of the sector, Pascal Champvert, president of the Association of Directors at the service of the Elderly (AD-PA) calls for the recruitment of at least two caregivers per establishment, i.e. 40,000 people: “It’s up to the government to decide that. Why not offer training adapted to cleaning staff, many of whom would be delighted to do so? And then relaunch a major training campaign? “.
In his report “After the COVID crisis, what solutions for tomorrow’s EHPAD? “, voted on January 18, the national academy of medicine draws the same conclusion by recommending “to strive for the same ratio of nursing staff regardless of the type of nursing home” as in the health sector where the missions are less broad. and lighter loads. Another problem: the difficulty of using certain equipment. Patient lifts, stand-ups, sliding sheets… The equipment does however exist to make life easier for staff: “But it is equipment that takes time to use, and sometimes two people,” adds the professional. Two options often unavailable to staff.
Physical and psychological suffering for caregivers
The consequences of this lack of means are multiple for caregivers. Physically, the task is exhausting: “We run all day and we break our backs replacing patients alone,” says Paule, who no longer counts musculoskeletal disorders among her colleagues. To this infernal rhythm are added the holidays too often canceled to fill an absence.
But the worst are the consequences on morale. In addition to “paternalistic human resources management” and “poor sharing of information between the various members of the healthcare team” due to lack of relief, highlighted by the Academy of Medicine, caregivers suffer of the consideration given to their work. Theirs first. “It’s hard to see the distress of patients and not be able to respond to it every day. When they ask for time, affection, or just dignity. And that we can’t linger because we’re overwhelmed… Sometimes we wonder how we can accept that. We lose a bit of our humanity, ”comments Nathalie with tremolos in her voice.
Restore the image of the profession
This loss of meaning, Paule also saw it regularly, in the eyes of others. Her husband may remind her that she does a noble job, but her feeling is not always this at the end of the day. She, who chose this path because she “liked to take care of others”, is sometimes ashamed of what she does. “What we experience every day, the way we are treated by the hierarchy, by the families of patients… It’s not every day, but it’s often enough for us to suffer. »
Worse, the difficulties faced by nursing staff in nursing homes are not even good financially rewarded. Denis Fischer would like this point to be addressed now to support staff, but also to make the job more attractive. A revaluation of 183 euros net per month was indeed implemented in 2020 within the framework of the Ségur de la santé, but the salaries offered remain modest in view of the mission entrusted.
A mission very little known to the general public according to Denis Fischer: “When we talk about a nurse, people quickly identify her role. For caregivers, the work is not always understood. This is often limited to “nursing” (Hygiene care-Editor’s note). Also, the FNAAS recalls the preponderant role of caregivers in therapeutic care, in all activities that help maintain the level of autonomy of the elderly. For this, Denis Fischer recommends information campaigns on the profession, to make people understand the training, the social role and the importance of caregivers.