After a difficult year and two clusters at the hospital, the staff at the Saint-Julien hoped to take a break this summer. But on June 30, the management of the Rouen University Hospital on which the establishment depends showered their hopes. From July 12, there will be no more … than 20 beds available in only one of the two acute geriatric medicine units. “We went from 60 beds to 20 beds in not even a year” specifies Sarah Lebrun, nursing assistant for 5 years in Saint-Julien. This is due to a shortage of staff, doctors, nurses, nursing assistants, in retirement homes and long-term care services which depend on the CHU. The staff of Saint-Julien will have to “plug the holes” in these deserted services because of leave, sick leave and the difficulty in recruiting staff in geriatric medicine. The working conditions and patient care would put off young graduates, explain the older ones.
The problem is that emergency room admissions do not slow down in the summer, say the strikers. And the fear of a fourth wave and a heatwave does not appease the spirits. Because with only 20 beds, there won’t be enough for everyone. “Those who are stabilized will go home, and the heaviest will stay on a stretcher and die in the emergency room” predicts Émilie Ridel, nursing assistant for 20 years on the site. The person especially fears that this closure, temporary according to the management, will last after the summer. The agents redeployed to other sites do not know whether they will return to their posts in Saint-Julien in September. “We are afraid that the service will not reopen” says Émilie.
Management “has made a commitment to reopen the 30 beds of the geriatric medicine department on September 1,” indicates the Rouen University Hospital. And the number of beds could even increase in the service in the coming months, as soon as the CHU will be able to put staff there. A major recruitment campaign for nurses and caregivers will be launched soon.
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