HUG sterilization staff, supported by Avenir syndical, are mobilizing against the move of their service to Vernier (GE). This ‘absurd project’ is ecological nonsense and will degrade current working conditions, he believes. HUG responds that the project will bring improvements for staff and that journeys will be made by electric truck.
While the University Hospitals of Geneva (HUG) must always have sterile equipment for patient operations, management has decided to send its ‘sterilization’ service to the other end of the canton, writes Avenir syndical on Thursday in a press release .
This service is now on site and supplies all operating theaters with equipment on a daily basis. Tomorrow, trucks will crisscross the canton all day long in both directions, bringing sterilized equipment to HUG and taking soiled equipment to Vernier. “When we want to be an exemplary hospital in terms of climate, there is reason to be surprised,” notes Avenir syndical.
Avenir syndical also deplores access to public transport becoming more complex and travel times lengthening. Employees will also find significantly less favorable conditions there: no company crèche, no cafeteria, overpriced parking spaces.
Finally, the union expresses doubts about this type of model. Given the clinical specificities of HUG and the number of patients who can surge at once (pandemics, natural disasters, etc.) the risk should not be taken lightly, he emphasizes. Furthermore, the time between the moment when the equipment is soiled and when it will be treated increases by several hours each day, which increases the risk of corrosion.
Electric truck
For their part, the HUG notes that the current premises are no longer suitable, while operational activity increases from year to year. They are insufficiently large and cannot be extended, spokesperson Anne-Laure Roudaut told Keystone-ATS. Working conditions are unsatisfactory in the basement, and employees have been complaining about this for a long time.
The best solution, according to the HUG, is for this service to be installed in brand new premises in Vernier. The move is planned for September 2025. Concerning the movement of equipment, an electric truck will be used. He will make the trip three times a day, added Ms. Roudaut. Note that new sterilization machines that consume much less energy will be installed in Vernier and will allow substantial savings.
Elsewhere too
Concerning working conditions, travel in particular human resources will find solutions on a case-by-case basis for the 76 employees. There are around twenty parking spaces and others are being sought to reach around 45, at prices cheaper than at HUG, said the spokesperson. In addition, employees of this service will no longer have night work from September 2025, and in the longer term, Sunday work will be eliminated.
An essential point for the HUG, the safety of equipment and patients will undergo absolutely no change. Pre-sterilized equipment is still on site, and a security center will remain on site for two years as a precaution. And to emphasize that the hospitals of Zurich and Sion have also relocated their sterilization centers without this causing them any problems.
/ATS
