“An empty shell”: unions, staff and users denounce the South-Aveyron joint hospital project

En décembre 2022, l’ex ministre déléguée à l’Accès au soin était venue valider le site d’implantation du futur hôpital commun sur la commune de Saint-Georges-de-Luzençon. Archives AD

There were around a hundred on Tuesday evening in Millau to regret the saving measures and adjustments envisaged by the Regional Health Agency (ARS) regarding the future common hospital of South Aveyron and the "blur& quot; which surrounds the decision-making process in which neither the unions nor the staff are associated.

Despite the optimism of those behind the future common hospital in South Aveyron who last March decided to accelerate &quot ;carrying out studies and contracts for construction", the staff, unions and users of the hospitals of Millau and Saint-Affrique are struggling, to put it mildly, to be applauded with both hands.

After several mornings of mobilization and as many public meetings, around a hundred Millavois responded on Tuesday evening to the invitation from the CGT and Sud unions for & quot;distinguish the true from the false. "Between announcements, fantasies and reality… What about the joint hospital project ?" This was in fact the subject of today's meeting which gathered around a hundred people, Carpentry room.

"An important moment, on the eve of a difficult summer for staff", recognized in the preamble Henri Célié for the collective of Saint-Affricain users listing "the inconsistencies"of a joint hospital project which, as it stands, would only be, for the unions and staff, a "empty shell", ultimately "very far away" from the initial ambitions.

"Full-function hospital"

Considered in 2018 in a "mupy" – named after the firm specializing in studies and project management assistance – on which the South Aveyron medical project (PMSA) will be developed, the main purpose of this project was, in addition to cleaning up finances in the red and treating the ;rsquo;attractiveness of the territory, to offer the health basin and its 75,000 inhabitants, "a full-function hospital".

A modern establishment equipped with "structuring services" many of which, however, did not survive the "saving measures" envisaged since then by the Regional Health Agency, confirm the unions.

"What ignited the powder, recognizes Corine Mora for the CGT this is the report of the Steering Committee (COPIL) of March 1st where it is written in black and white that we must work on ways to save money on biology, cooking or medical technology including the hospital pharmacy which would lose half of its activity. L’one of these famous tracks being to supply the Ehpad of the establishment by pharmacies of city.

"A stupid and provocative choice"

Idem for the kitchen (12 employees) where the preparation of meals for the future hospital center could ultimately return to the central kitchen. Finally, the same goes for the laboratory (20 employees) whose activity – "among the most profitable" South slide – could be outsourced to the future large biology laboratory of the Montpellier University Hospital or possibly stored in an annex room. "A stupid and provocative choice, deplores pharmacist-biologist Roch Denoyer. An aberration when we know that 70 % of medical decisions are made on biology."

"Today we have to face a wholesale dismemberment orchestrated by technocrats. Twelve people who secretly organize the provision of care in South Aveyron and empty the future common hospital of its substance, conclude the unions. But there is still time to change things to have a real full-service hospital and not a showcase, an empty shell. No, there is no inevitability, no resignation!" At the beginning of June, a new gathering is planned in front of the  rsquo;Occitanie regional health agency in Montpellier.