Falling off work, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, while working as an infection prevention and control nurse. A nightmare. “I experienced a strong sense of guilt…” Joannie Van Houtte St-Gelais, nurse at the Honoré-Mercier hospital in Saint-Hyacinthe, felt like she was abandoning her team when she found herself on sick leave after the first wave.
“It was the summer when many of my colleagues had their vacations canceled,” explains the 37-year-old woman. I thought to myself “are you going to think that I asked my doctor to stop me because I wanted to have my vacation the same?” Victim of overwork, Joannie Van Houtte remained at home for six weeks. When he returned, the second wave was coming.
Since March 2020, approximately 50% of the approximately 17,000 employees of the CISSS de la Montérégie-Est have been off work for various medical reasons (including COVID-19 and long-term COVID). Among these workers, 38% were struggling with a mental health problem, according to the CISSS.
This trend existed even before the pandemic. According to the health establishment, 42% of CISSS employees experienced a disability episode in 2018-2019, including 39% for mental health reasons.
“We are worried because the fatigue and wear and tear are really great,” says Jacynthe Boisvert, senior consultant in organizational health management at the CISSS de la Montérégie-Est.
The “saviors of Quebec” fly to the aid of patients, but with threadbare capes. Others might collapse.
“We are so lacking in personnel to meet the needs and the supply of services that our leaders, our managers or senior advisers have to do shifts in the field and care tasks, particularly in CHSLDs and youth centres, indicates Jacynthe Boisvert. Otherwise, we are out of service. »
Psychological first aid
To support its staff, the CISSS de la Montérégie-Est will soon launch a “health ambassador” project. As of mid-June, employees will receive training in psychological first aid. “They will be able to help and listen to colleagues, be kind and redirect them to the right resources,” explains Jacynthe Boisvert. They will intervene during their working time. “We come to legitimize the corridor discussions,” she continues.
For the past year, CISSS employees have also been able to benefit from “Reprise ton élan”, a project designed in collaboration with the company Impact Réadaptation. A kinesiologist offers weekly individual consultations or workshops in the region’s hospitals (Pierre-Boucher, Hôtel-Dieu de Sorel and Honoré-Mercier) on, for example, the prevention and management of pain or the psychological health. According to the CISSS, more than 250 individual follow-ups and more than 400 workshops have taken place so far.
The president of the Union of Healthcare Professionals of Montérégie-Est, Brigitte Petrie, expresses skepticism with regard to these measures, in particular the “health ambassadors” project. “People are in crisis, are exhausted,” she says. Will they feel like helping others when all they really want is to run out of the hospital and go home? »
In hospitals and CHSLDs, nurses “do not have time” to take part in the various activities offered at lunchtime, she adds. “If you give me a yoga class, but you make me do two TSOs [temps supplémentaire obligatoire] in my week, I may not be in good health all the same,” says Brigitte Petrie. The union repeats that the working conditions of caregivers must be improved to counter burnout.
Since her return to work, Joannie Van Houtte St-Gelais has taken a lunch break. She made a pact with a former colleague in her department: close the computer screen and read a novel. “It happened to us sometimes that the phone rang and said ‘I was waiting for his call, it’s going to take five minutes,’ she says. Just seeing that we felt bad about breaking our agreement, I was like, “OK, we’re on our way”. »
Last January, the nurse became senior advisor in specialized care — oncology and palliative care continuum. She always practices the “disconnection”. Since January, the President and CEO of the CISSS de la Montérégie-Est has sent reminders twice a week to administrative staff to take an “active break” between 12:15 p.m. and 12:45 p.m. Text messages and emails are to be avoided during this period.
Managers in distress
Managers are also exhausted due to the pandemic. France Ayotte, head of intra- and extra-hospital archives for the territory of Richelieu-Yamaska and responsible for the harmonization of services, can testify to this. Despite her doctor’s insistence, she refused to take sick leave in August 2021. No one could replace her.
“I told my doctor, ‘There’s no way I’m quitting. It’s not true that I’m going to leave my team in this situation, ”says the 53-year-old woman, moved.
The former medical archivist sits in her small, windowless office in the basement of Honoré-Mercier Hospital. Its employees work in a nearby room, where more than 535,000 medical files are filed… paper.
France Ayotte received support from the CISSS while she regained her footing. Jacynthe Boisvert offered her coaching sessions for approximately five weeks, as she has done for 45 managers since her arrival at the CISSS a year and a half ago.
“It was the first time that I felt listened to in the organization, says France Ayotte, who is now better. I have already gone to see psychologists. But it was always outsiders who don’t know what’s going on internally. »
Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Montreal Simon Grenier is interested in the managers of the network put to the test during the pandemic. Next fall, he will conduct a study on managerial compassion in times of crisis with François Courcy, full professor in the Department of Psychology at the Université de Sherbrooke. Employees and managers of the CISSS de la Montérégie-Est will be surveyed.
The researchers’ hypothesis? Managers living in distress have a harder time showing compassion for staff. Yet compassion is one of the ingredients that promote work efficiency and innovation, according to Simon Grenier. “It encourages employees to put more effort into their work and to create a climate of emotional and psychological security between them,” he specifies.
At the end of their study, Simon Grenier and François Courcy intend to make recommendations to the CISSS de la Montérégie-Est. The network needs their help.