Three years after the start of the pandemic, health workers who refused to be vaccinated against Covid-19 could soon return to their jobs in hospitals. Some foresee “heated discussions” with their colleagues, others assure that there will be “no worries”.
Since his departure, Nicolas has sometimes come back to drink coffee with certain colleagues. “I’ve been working here for more than 20 years, they know my children, there is no problem between us”, assures this organ transporter at Montpellier hospital, suspended since September 2021 because he refused to be vaccinated against Covid-19. An opinion from the High Authority for Health (HAS) paved the way, at the end of March, for his reinstatement and that of a few hundred health professionals who, like him, were opposed to the vaccination obligation for caregivers. How do those concerned view this return? And their vaccinated colleagues, are they waiting for them? For the moment, uncertainty reigns among the caregivers with whom franceinfo spoke. No decree activating the reinstatement of the suspended has yet been published and it will surely be necessary to wait until the summer and a new opinion from the HAS, expected in July.
Questions that arise
Doctors, nurses, nursing assistants… Nicolas rubbed shoulders with them on a daily basis before being dismissed. “Them, I don’t know how they are going to take it. When I met my manager, it was very cold, I think he is not in favor of our return”, he feels. Unlike him, some haven’t set foot in their workplace for a year and a half.
At the idea of returning to the hospital, Elsa Ruillère, very media spokesperson for unvaccinated caregivers, evokes “the fear of being poorly accepted by colleagues”. According to her, health personnel opposed to vaccination against Covid-19 have been “insulted for two years”. Practical questions also arise. “Will we be reinstated in the same service? When will the decision be effective?” asks Elsa Ruillère.
>> How many caregivers have been suspended for refusing to be vaccinated against Covid-19?
Before possibly being reinstated, Nicolas would like to obtain compensation for the months of lost wages and be assured of returning to his former hospital service. “without being thrown away like a handkerchief three months later”. “My goal is for this reintegration to go as smoothly as possible”assured the Minister of Health, François Braun, at the microphone of France Bleu.
The fear of being ostracized
Before being sidelined, Nicolas remembers the conflicts he may have had with doctors and nurses about the vaccine against Covid-19. “It has been very tense the last month”, he recalls. Despite everything, he does not apprehend his potential return: “In the meantime, I separated from my wife, I slept in my car for three weeks, I didn’t have a salary for months, I did odd jobs, so I saw many ‘others, we relativize.
The father of the family assures that he will not be “in the provoke” with his colleagues. The one who walked from Montpellier to the Elysée to defend his cause nevertheless warns: “If the chiefs behave with me as with the other staff, there will be no problem.” Adelaide, speech therapist at Périgueux hospital suspended for 18 months, “hope they won’t put us at a disadvantage in the schedules or refuse me my part-time, for example”.
“With the colleagues, there will be heated discussions, but we cannot agree on everything, we could also have gotten angry about the education of the children or the elections.”
Adelaide, speech therapist suspendedat franceinfo
After a 44-day hunger strike, Adelaide is happy to be back in hospital for “go to the end of the fight”. Even if she denies any proselytism to patients, she still intends to use posters in the corridors of the establishment to promote, for example, a conference or a debate organized by her collective of fight against vaccination obligation.
Opinions divided on their return
This is what fears several caregivers who have remained on the front line since these long months of the epidemic. “The risk is that the stance against vaccination will increase”estimates Sarah Carmaux, framework in charge of the recruitment and the management of the pole women-children at the hospital of Montreuil. “We have managed to eradicate a lot of diseases thanks to vaccines, we work in pediatrics, we have a duty towards parents”she believes.
“These remarks can weaken the acceptability of vaccination within the population.”
Sarah Carmaux, Senior Health Managerat franceinfo
Beyond a Question “ethics”Patrick Daoud, head of the neonatal intensive care unit at Montreuil hospital, points to a difference in treatment. “Un a number of caregivers have been vaccinated when they did not want to, but they did it out of duty. As a manager, I find that it would be an inequity compared to them.” The pediatrician is therefore opposed to the return of those who refused to be vaccinated during the pandemic, even if four suspended agents have not been replaced in his service. The head of department nevertheless assures that he will welcome them “normally, neither better nor worse”.
“I will keep my opinion to myself, and obviously they will get the same treatment as everyone else.”
Patrick Daoud, head of the neonatal intensive care unitat franceinfo
“They made a choice, they took it pretty hard… If the law allows them to come back, there’s nothing to discuss”believes Françoise Gaillard, midwife. “Obviously, everyone can give their opinion, but in a reasonable way. If it’s so that colleagues are excluded from the teams and they think about each other all the time, it won’t be possible”, warns the elected CGT at the Montpellier University Hospital. The trade unionist promises that she will take care of the grain and will ask management to “think about solutions upstream” And “don’t wait for things to go wrong”.
“We would like to discuss with the supervisors of the teams to find out what support they can provide to the suspended agents. We are thinking of mediation and psychological support systems.”
Françoise Gaillard, midwifeat franceinfo
Some establishments have begun to reflect on the question. At the Dijon University Hospital, six professionals, including three caregivers, are always suspended. Management assures franceinfo that“a support system for their reintegration is provided by human resources”without giving further details.
Jerome Choteau, caregiver in a nursing home in Perpignan, says he is on his side “relieved” to be able to count on one of his suspended colleagues again. According to him, during the pandemic, “it was not easy”. And to mention “difficult times”, “sometimes with three or four fewer people”. In the Ehpad as in the public hospital, “we are already short of staff, so suspending them was absurd”believes for her part Julie Baillon, nurse in a clinic in Lorient.
“It undermined the health system. We found ourselves even more understaffed.”
Julie Baillon, nurseat franceinfo
Aurélie Sinna, nurse at Bichat hospital in Paris, is also delighted to find these unvaccinated caregivers. And to conclude: “Many services are under tension with closed units and closed beds, for lack of nurse presence. If that allows them to reopen and treat more patients, I am for it.”