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In Nevers, the last maternity hospital in Nièvre is sorely lacking in midwives

2022-05-06T16:35:32.369Z


Due to a lack of sufficient staff, the maternity ward had to close for several days in April. A representative case of the lack of midwives at the national level.


The International Day of the Midwife, celebrated on May 5, had a bitter taste in French maternity wards, which are chronically understaffed.

That of Nevers in particular, which temporarily closed its doors from April 11 to 19.

The 14 midwives in the service were all on sick leave, for a collective burn-out.

Activity was only able to resume thanks to the mobilization of the health reserve, made up of volunteer caregivers and able to intervene quickly.

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This maternity, which is in the hospital center of Nevers, is the only one in Nièvre.

Each year, 1200 babies are born in the department.

In the space of ten years, the three other maternities closed their doors: that of Clamecy in 2008, then that of Decize in 2010 and finally Cosne-sur-Loire in 2018.

Aurélie Perier, midwife, for 23 years in Nevers, witnessed the slow deterioration of working conditions.

“We have been warning about the situation for years.

There is an unprecedented haemorrhage from midwives in our hospital, which jeopardizes the safety of patients

, ”she explains.

Four years ago, the service still had 26 midwives to provide care, day and night, weekends and public holidays.

Many left in liberal or towards other maternities.

Guillaume Rameau, the only man on the team, is worried about the health of women and newborns.

“In the delivery room, we can have up to six patients a day, in addition to emergencies and consultations.

Two midwives to manage everything is not enough

,” he warns.

We have in our hands the lives of mothers and babies, we have no room for error.

According to figures from the Ministry of Health, 80% of normal deliveries are performed by a midwife.

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During the eight days of closure of the maternity ward, future mothers were transferred to maternity wards in neighboring departments: Dijon, Bourges, Auxerre, Moulins or Montluçon.

Sometimes more than two hours from their home.

Since the reopening of the service, temporary stability has been restored.

But for how long ?

The volunteers from the health reserve who support the midwives of Nevers will leave the day after May 13.

The management, whom we tried to reach without success, launched a recruitment campaign.

National shortage of midwives

For Guillaume Rameau, the extreme case of Nevers “

is only the tree that hides the forest.

“Maternities, even in large cities, are struggling to recruit midwives.

Our profession suffers from a cruel lack of recognition whereas

, he recalls,

we all pass through the hands of a midwife.

“He regrets a” deleterious

“ economic logic

at the hospital, which according to him does not favor the health of mothers and babies.

A sign of the times, childbirth preparation courses in Nevers were canceled a year ago due to lack of sufficient staff.

For Aurélie Perrier, remuneration in the hospital environment should be upgraded.

The midwife compares her profession to that of hospital dental surgeons, whose salary at the start of their career is double.

"

Our profession will not be able to attract new recruits without a salary commensurate with our skills

," she says.

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According to the General Inspectorate of Social Affairs, the share of midwives in hospitals has continued to decline in recent years.

In 2012, 73% worked exclusively in healthcare establishments and 20% had a liberal activity (combined or not with a salaried activity).

In 2021 they are only 59%, while the liberals now represent 34% of the workforce.

For expectant mothers living more than 45 minutes by car from a maternity hospital, the state introduced financial assistance in April.

They can now benefit from temporary non-medical accommodation or a hospital hotel.

Source: lefigaro

All news articles on 2022-05-06

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