500 people present at a meeting of doctors about the future of Saint-Affrique hospital

Plusieurs médecins ont pris la parole ce mardi soir, à Saint-Affrique. Midi libre – J.-M. C.

Several doctors did not hide their concerns this Tuesday evening, during a public speech, on the future of healthcare provision in South Aveyron in the years to come.

At the initiative of doctors from the health cooperation group and the medical commission establishing the Émile-Borel hospital, and with the support of the inter-union CGT, CFDT and Sud santé sociale, a public meeting was held Tuesday evening in the village hall. The room was full, 500 people found a place there.

Rather surprising, for some regulars at these meetings, while the latest mobilizations regarding the hospital had little success.

Mayors present in the audience

The motto of the meeting was "Common hospital, between myth and reality. What place for the Émile-Borel hospital ? For an undistorted truth. Join us!!!" Several mayors were present among the public, including Sébastien David, also president of the hospital's supervisory board. None of them intervened.

A gathering Saturday April 20

"We will consider actions to maintain pressure on people who pose threats to the Saint-Affrique hospital, declared Régine Sauveplane, nurse and CGT secretary of the hospital. We have planned a rally in front of the hospital for all the people who want to defend it on Saturday April 20 at 10 a.m. We are going to march in the streets to show that we will stay there until we win our case. We will extend an invitation to the general director of ARS Occitanie and summon him to come and meet the Saint-Affricains and the inhabitants of the territory."

For a good two hours and in front of an attentive audience, the nine speakers at the microphone, applauded each time they spoke, addressed numerous subjects. Doctor Emad Loucif, cardiologist, moderated the debates: "This meeting is not directed against anyone. The current serious situation of our hospital is due to collective responsibility. It is the responsibility of everyone, starting with us doctors. This is an accumulation of several years."

"A drop in activity due to the closure of beds"

After briefly presenting the history of the Saint-Affrique hospital, Emad Loucif discussed the Mupy report, the South Aveyron medical project of 2021, the creation on March 1 of the real estate health cooperation group (GCS) and the meeting of the steering committee (Copil) of the common hospital on March 2 in Millau. The latter motivated the holding of this public meeting :"Now that there is the GCS and that the marriage has taken place, we must ensure that it there is a common medical team and I am afraid that it will be to the detriment of Saint-Affrique, said the doctor. I am afraid that by starting to dismantle Saint-Affrique, as has begun, we will find ourselves without a hospital here and without a new hospital there. Since we have had a common administration, we have had a drop in activity due, among other things, to the closure of beds. Since this marriage, we have lost a lot of staff. As luck would have it, they leave Saint-Affrique towards Millau. It’s not normal to have a radiology center and to have a desert around it."

Electrical problems, lack of doctors in the region, future of emergencies, what will ultimately remain at the Saint-Affrique hospital, lack of investment.

"We must give doctors and caregivers a voice"

The unions raised several points highlighted on the banners hung on the hospital gates (our March 19 edition). Doctor Didier Tournier, radiologist, wonders: "Can we not make a call for medical projects for South Aveyron ? We may need to redefine the cards. We must give doctors and caregivers a voice." What emerges from the discussions is a distrust of the management of the two hospitals. The CGT calls for an end to the real estate GCS which "leads to one-way pooling. The doctors and the board of directors said no." The union also demands independent management for each of the two hospitals.

"We are transparent, we hide nothing"

In response to a few points raised during the public meeting, Sophie Tort, deputy director of the Saint-Affrique hospital, replied: "There is no ;rsquo;aspiration of Saint-Affrique staff towards Millau whoever they may be. They are two different establishments with local agreements which, in the past, have been worked separately and are not the same. We are gradually seeing how to harmonize this. There is no desire to divert staff. This is absolutely false. In a hospital, staff movements are inherent to the life of the establishment. Today, it’s more complicated. We are faced with the law of supply and demand. And it is the candidate who chooses the place where he will work."

Concerning the South Aveyron medical project, "it was approved by the medical commissions of each of the two establishments", she specifies. During the public meeting the departure of doctors and nurses this summer was mentioned. "For summer emergencies, we are awaiting the return of the schedules made by the doctors and the head of department." And to continue: "We demonstrate transparency. We don't hide anything. That there is a fear for the future with agents who will step out of their comfort zone, I understand it. It’s legit."