The controversy surrounding the fate of caregivers who have not been vaccinated against Covid-19 is stirring debates in the National Assembly.
Emblematic, a sequence made the deputies RN and Nupes roar.
At the start of the examination of the bill "
monitoring and health security in the fight against Covid-19
", Monday evening, the Minister of Health returned to the case of these personnel.
Suspended since last fall, they will not be reinstated in the near future, confirmed François Braun.
While the epidemic is in an “
ascending phase
”, with more than 130,000 cases detected each day, this track “
cannot be on the agenda
”, justified the minister, under the boos of the elected representatives of the group. RN.
Confirming this position, government spokesman Olivier Véran said on Wednesday that a return "
is not on the table
".
The arguments of the Ministry of Health had already been put forward by Emmanuel Macron: at the beginning of May, the Head of State had indicated that the reintegration of these professionals could be addressed “
when we are no longer in the acute phase [of the epidemic ]
”.
Contaminations then receded in France, and "
if it continues to fall in the coming weeks, we will go in this direction
, ”added the President of the Republic.
Facing the National Assembly, François Braun also proposed that "
in the context of the reports provided for by the bill [...] which must be submitted by the Government to Parliament at the end of October
", the The executive presents “
objective elements, produced under the aegis of the health authorities, on this question
”.
A few hours later, on Tuesday afternoon, during questions to the government, François Braun repeated his commitment to a "
meeting point, on the basis of the information report that you wanted [...], in the fall, to take stock of the situation
".
A horizon, of course, but not enough to satisfy the opposition: “
We need caregivers in hospitals
exclaimed the rebellious François Ruffin, while his group loudly expressed their disagreement.
Contacted, the minister's office refers to comments made on Tuesday evening: François Braun then indicated that he intended to consult “
in the coming days the scientific and ethical authorities, in particular the HAS, [...] and the CCNE.
In the light of their opinions, I will bring together the unions to present this point of view to them and we will work together to provide a clear, objective, reasoned answer to you [parliamentarians] on this question
”.
Proposals excluded from the text
It is therefore still not the time to reinstate these personnel, to the great displeasure of the opposition.
During the examination of the text, several political groups tabled amendments, in committee as well as in public session, to demand the reinstatement of non-vaccinated caregivers.
Carried by the Insoumis, two of them, thus, demanded “
the repeal of the provisions suspending the nursing staff who are not vaccinated
”, in the name of the well-being of hospitals and users.
On the environmental side, an amendment signed by Aurélien Taché and some of his colleagues is nuanced, advocating reinstatement while saying "
not opposed to a compulsory vaccination strategy for all accompanied by a prevention device.
".
Other amendments have also been put forward by the elected representatives of the Freedom, Independent, Overseas and Territories group, by several LR deputies and by Marine Le Pen's party.
But all of these proposals were declared inadmissible and discarded from the discussions: "
this is not the subject of our work
", underlined the president (Renaissance) of the law commission, Sacha Houlié, a strongly criticized argument by the Nupes as by the RN.
“
This reinstatement is in no way desirable.
It is indeed legitimate to demand from those who are responsible for our health that they protect themselves and, consequently, that they protect others
, ”added the MP for the majority.
A trail that divides the profession
Professionals are deeply divided on this issue.
Some, like Patrick Pelloux, are in favor of it: "
Here, the priority is to reopen beds, so we have to reintegrate them, that will make a few thousand people, that's as many beds as we will reopen
", indicated the boss of the Amuf, at the beginning of July.
Others are more mixed: "
If the suspended returned, the situation is so catastrophic that it would not change anything
", worried the director of emergencies at Saint-Denis hospital, Mathias Wargon, in our columns.
Be that as it may, the number of personnel concerned, difficult to estimate, remains low and would not change the situation of health establishments, regularly underlines the executive.
Citing the rises of the ARS, François Braun quantified the proportion of suspended agents at 0.53%, at the beginning of July, or approximately 12,000 people, some of whom are not part of the nursing staff.
During the report of the Council of Ministers on Wednesday, Olivier Véran cited the figures of 600 nurses suspended throughout the public and private hospital park, and 75 doctors and pharmacists.
To these figures would be added 100 nurses in nursing homes.
For its part, the FHF judged in mid-June that it
4000 to 5000
” professionals, caregivers and non-caregivers combined.
That is “
0.3% of the total of establishment agents
”.
A drop of water, therefore … But which remains essential in the face of the dilapidated state of the health system, plead the opposition.
