hospitals prepare for return of unvaccinated caregivers

The rules of the game concerning the reintegration of unvaccinated caregivers were set by the government on May 2. As of Monday, May 15, these professionals will be reinstated in a post ” equivalent ” to the one they were forced to leave more than a year ago, since the establishment of the law of August 5, 2021, which required them to be vaccinated against Covid-19 to exercise. In the event of refusal of the position offered by the employer, the professional may be subject to expulsion, after formal notice.

The heads of public establishments (hospitals, Ehpad, etc.) were then summoned to contact “as soon as possible, and if possible within two weeks” with every professional suspended “to notify him of the end of the suspension and if possible indicate the post of assignment and the date of resumption of work”, specifies the ministerial instruction.

“The majority wants to come back”

At the University Hospital Center (CHU) of Poitiers, 13 agents had been suspended out of the 7,000 professionals in the establishment. “We immediately contacted them ten days ago to find out their choice of integration or non-reintegration, and the majority want to return,” says Sophie Guerraz, director of human resources at the CHU.

Most of these professionals will return to the position they occupied before the vaccination obligation. Others will be assigned, as required by the ministerial instruction, to a position with similar functions. “A nurse who practiced a specialty in an nursing home unit may be assigned to another unit but will perform the same types of care”, explains the director, while ensuring that the establishment had anticipated these returns. “We are implementing this new regulatory change calmly”, she concludes.

In March, the Ministry of Health estimated “around 0.3%” the proportion of hospital workers who had been suspended for refusing to be vaccinated. In hospitals, the latter therefore represent a tiny part of the workforce. At the Sud Seine-et-Marne hospital center, 6 agents out of 2,500 have been suspended. “So it’s not a monstrous task to reassign them, admits Arthur Moinet, secretary general of the CHU. On the other hand, we are still waiting for the government decree for this reinstatement to be legally official. » Ce decree has been issued on the night of Saturday May 13 to Sunday May 14, the day before the return of agents between the walls of health establishments.

A “microphenomenon”, but extra arms

At the CHU de Sud Seine-et-Marne, it is also the majority of suspended patients who will return to service. When contacted, “some were happy at the idea of ​​returning, others took more distance from the establishment and retrained”, says Arthur Moinet. Reindeer, “some contacted the CHU to find out when they could return as soon as the opinion of the High Authority for Health was published. (HAS) of lift the vaccination obligationpublished Thursday, March 30,” recalls Erwann Paul, director of human resources at the CHU, where 18 agents out of 8,000 were suspended.

If school leaders talk about a “microphenomenon”at a time when hospitals are short of arms and struggling to recruit, “it will always be extra colleagues in the departments”admits Erwann Paul, while ensuring that he has no fears about the mistrust of vaccinated caregivers towards their suspended colleagues.

Nevertheless, “It remains an issue of individual support so that the recovery takes place smoothly”, underlines the director of human resources. In Rennes, special attention will then be requested from the executives of the sectors that will receive these personnel, “in order to ensure that their return allows above all the best possible care for patients”.