A large dining room transformed into an examination room and all the staff on the war foot for systematic screening for coronavirus. This first took place this Tuesday, March 31 at the Ehpad (accommodation establishment for dependent elderly) La Tournelle, in La Garenne-Colombes (Hauts-de-Seine).
Shortly after 8 a.m., the teams from the RSBio laboratory, based in this Parisian suburb commune, take their place in the structure of the Emera group, which brings together nearly 120 elderly people and some 70 accompanying persons. For the occasion, the common room has been refurbished with the installation of three boxes, isolated from each other.
The operation begins at 8:30 am, with the screening of the employees of the establishment by laboratory personnel, all dressed in the usual protective clothing: blouse, overshoes, glasses, mask and gloves. Then the employees of La Tournelle go to look for the residents drop by drop, step by step.
"I was reassured that we were all doing it"
Three specialists were responsible for the samples: Jean-François Roubache, the director of RSBio, a biologist and a nurse. Next to them, a technician managed the logistics after the sample was taken: labeling, name verification, packaging of samples, etc.
“Of course we have no room for error. For the first time ever, this screening went exceptionally well, ”says Jean-François Roubache.
The sample, which lasts for around thirty seconds, is not at all a pleasure. "If you don't push the swab far enough, you risk distorting the result and having false negatives," notes the boss of the laboratory. With the exception of three "somewhat complicated" cases, everything went well, he said.
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In four hours, the 120 residents and some forty staff members passed into the hands of RSBio troops. Maryse, 75, has lived here for three months. “The virus worries us. When we were told about screening, I was reassured that it was done for all of us, even if it was unpleasant. We still have to wait for the results, but we have just been lifted from the shoulders, ”says the resident.
A relief shared by families. “Screening doesn't fix everything, but it's better than nothing. At least, we have an idea of the situation at a given time, ”said Myriam, whose 90-year-old mother joined the nursing home, just before the health crisis. "She couldn't stay alone at home anymore," she explains.
A ten-bed containment area already set up
All residents had been notified the day before. “We went to see them, each in their room, with a psychologist, to prepare them and avoid trauma. We explained to them what was going to happen, we started again before the test and we stayed with them permanently. Then, the difficulty is to proceed to screening while continuing to apply the barrier gestures. "
Retirement homes are particularly affected by the virus. In the La Tournelle nursing home, three cases were detected. "They were confined," says director Ahmet Gozel. We had implemented barrier gestures before they became mandatory, prohibited visits from February 26 and confined residents to their rooms on March 23, "a few days before the Minister of Health asked to prepare for it.
“We already have a containment area with ten beds. The number of positive cases among residents and caregivers will determine our action plan and whether or not to extend this area, ”says Ahmet Gozel.
In Nancy (Meurthe-et-Moselle), residents and staff of a municipal nursing home will be subjected to another type of systematic Covid-19 screening during the week. Them by blood test, announced this Tuesday the mayor of the city Laurent Hénart. Advantage of this technique: it makes it possible to know the level of antibodies in each person sampled and thus to identify those who have not been infected with Covid-19, those who are in the process of infection, but also those who are now immune.
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