A “counterproductive, unfair and unjustified” decision. While the CHU de Toulouse leads the ranking of the best hospitals and clinics 2024its management recently decided to remove the position of receptionist in the cardiology intensive care unit (USIC).
In question: a low occupancy rate (85%) between 2023 and 2024. For the SUD Santé Sociaux union, this figure does not take into account the severity of pathologies in cardiology nor of the polyactivity of nursing staff.
Without a receptionist, it is the healthcare team who will suffer, spending time doing this work, time that the nurses and caregivers will no longer spend with the patients”, denounces Victor Alava, CICU nurse , interviewed by L’Opinion Indépendante.
And to add: “Management has decided to remove what it considers unnecessary. Welcoming patients and families is one of the foundations of care. The hospital is not a factory”.
“The CHU condemns agents to exclusion”
Whether you come to see a sick person or be hospitalized, arriving at a healthcare establishment is often an ordeal. Key contact, the receptionist is responsible for many tasks (physical reception, creation/management of patient files, telephone calls, etc.).
Furthermore, this position allows agents, often nursing assistants, worn out by physical constraints and damaged by work and musculoskeletal disorders, to be able to continue their career in a position requiring less manipulation effort.
When the receptionist isn’t there, it’s hell. We have difficult jobs that require speed, but also a lot of concentration. We don’t have time to devote ourselves to families,” insists Victor Alava.
For the union member, “by eliminating these reception positions, the University Hospital condemns 300 agents to exclusion. It has already announced that it will offer them a conventional termination. Without a solution, they will be directed towards the exit”.
-Angry, THE caregivers decided to “fight” and go on strike starting January 6. They also call on the population and users of the establishment to challenge management.
In order to support them in this struggle which is likely to be long and difficultpeople who wish can contribute, even if only modestly, to the strike fund established for this purpose.
As we are subject to minimum service, some of us are assigned. But as it is a dogmatic decision, we fear that the strike will last and must organize ourselves to hold on,” explains the nurse.
Among their demands, health professionals also accuse the establishment of communicating their personal data without express authorization given for this purpose. They criticize an attack on respect for private life.
While the summons of the striking hospital workers must be delivered in person, the Toulouse University Hospital “calls a bailiff to our home and, in the event of his absence, gives him our telephone numbers, which is totally prohibited”reports Victor Alava.
Contacted on this point, the establishment has, for the moment, not responded to our requests.
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