“We cannot provide proper care or meet demand. The ratio of speech therapists to population is not sufficient. » A little over a year after the call for a national strike launched by the profession's inter-union association, almost nothing has changed.
“It’s not glorious”confirms Françoise Moreau, based in Échiré, representative of the delegation of speech therapists from Deux-Sèvres within the National Federation of Speech Therapists (FNO) and delegate of the Regional Union of Health Professionals (URPS). “There are 45 of us, liberally, in the department. » For comparison, at the end of 2023, there were 38, “the catastrophe”.
A very small improvement, therefore, which does not change the difficulty in obtaining an appointment quickly: “On my waiting list are 62 people, with 18 months to wait, on average. »
“The lack of speech therapists in hospital and medico-social structures impacts us in private”
Faced with growing demand, particularly because the population is living longer, the speech therapist has established pathologies to be treated as a priority: “Neurological problems, stuttering, voice or oral problems and eating disorders. » Follow-ups concerning learning, oral language and neurodegenerative disorders remain the most frequent.
« The lack of speech therapists in hospital and medico-social structures, where many positions are vacant, impacts us on a private basis. We must take care of even more affected patients. Consequence: there are no more places for others, who also need care”deplores Françoise Moreau. Knowing that on average, speech therapy follow-ups last from a year to a year and a half, with one or two sessions per week.
Professional and personal life
How to explain this situation? A major obstacle persists: salary. “At the hospital, we start at the minimum wage increased by €60, which is not much for a job that requires five years of study. » The remuneration is no more motivating for students who would consider working as a freelancer. “After paying the charges, we are around 35,000 euros per year in profits. »
Another element of the answer: young professionals prefer to stay close to training centers, located in town. “The spouse does not necessarily find work elsewhere”explains Françoise Moreau, emphasizing the balance between professional and personal life.
“They don’t necessarily have a transport solution”
In the department, recent installations concern young people “sometimes in retraining”. The presence of healthcare homes bringing together several healthcare professions and assistance for settling in stressed areas have encouraged some.
Françoise Moreau also welcomes students for internships. They often have ties in Deux-Sèvres and a possibility of accommodation. “If they come from Poitiers, they don’t necessarily have a transport solution. »
For patients too, the question of transport is crucial. “Some come from neighboring departments 30 or 40 minutes away by car, just one way. It's tiring and expensive. Grandparents are often asked to accompany children to appointments. »
The professional, the only speech therapist in the Échiré health center, remains hopeful: “Perhaps some interns will settle in Deux-Sèvres. » She would appreciate the presence of a second specialist at her side.
Assistance of €30,000 to settle in
At its lowest, 34 speech therapists worked privately, in Deux-Sèvres, in 2021. At the end of 2023, there were 38, reaching, at the end of September 2024, 45 practicing specialists. “Today we return to the number of professionals present in the region between 2014 and 2016. But, in the meantime, demand has exploded. It takes two to two and a half years to wait for the children”indicates Julien Bouchereau, head of the health department at the CPAM des Deux-Sèvres.
Among these 45 speech therapists, “three or four have settled thanks to assistance from the Department”. If they choose an “under-dense area”, candidates for a first freelance installation can claim a grant of €30,000, spread over five years, in order to equip their practice.
Related News :