The health authorities are beginning to deploy a system of housing aid in inner Paris to attract nurses. The candidates were until then few because of the too high prices in rents in the capital.
Cassandre Siraudin, originally from Vendée, psychiatric nurse at the University Hospital Group (GHU) Paris, has been living in a Parisian apartment for several months. “The entrance is small but practical, she said, showing us around, the bathroom with the toilets, a bathtub. There is a living room with the bed, the table, the chairs and a small kitchen area. In all, I have 32 square meters, it’s bigger than I imagined.”
A partner landlord of the health authorities rents this apartment to Cassandre Siraudin. She receives aid co-financed by her hospital and by the Regional Health Agency (ARS). In this district of the 12th arrondissement, without help, this nurse would have paid double. Too much rent for his salary. “I’m about 2,100 euros, so I couldn’t have put half my salary in rent.”
“Having this type of accommodation so close to metro level and so close to work is really a plus.”
Cassandre Siraudin, psychiatric nurseat franceinfo
Today, this nurse is only seven metro stops from Sainte-Anne Hospital, a total of 20 minutes from door to door. For the young woman, it’s a real luxury in the Paris region. The young nurse clearly sees the difference with many of her colleagues. “A lot of my colleagues live in the suburbs, so they take at least 40, 45 minutes. The others are by car, so they take about the same time, about an hour.“
1,600 housing units for caregivers in 2022
It was a wish of Emmanuel Macron during his wishes to the world of Health in January. The Head of State had defended the idea of helping nurses to find accommodation in the center of large cities, to fight against the shortage of caregivers in hospitals. In Paris, for example, the various hospital groups lack thousands of nurses. There are very few candidates, because housing is too expensive there, and from the suburbs, it sometimes takes hours every day on public transport to reach the hospitals.
The health authorities are therefore beginning to deploy this system of housing aid, with real success, underlines Amélie Verdier, director general of ARS Île-de-France: “We have already financed 1,600 housing solutions last year and we will further increase this effort because it is also very important that we can find accessible housing for caregivers.” The Ile-de-France ARS also finances the construction of housing for caregivers.