The director of the CHU de Guadeloupe and his two assistants “are fine, but are still very shocked” after being assaulted by hospital agents, declared Wednesday January 5 on franceinfo the director of the regional health agency (ARS) Guadeloupe, Valérie Denux. While their offices were under siege on Tuesday, Gérard Cotellon and his assistants say they were molested by the demonstrators during their exfiltration by the police. “These people no longer position themselves as health professionals”, deplores Valérie Denux. “They did not understand the absolute necessity of facing this fifth wave.”
Do you have any news from the head of the CHU and his assistants?
Valérie Denux: They are doing pretty well but they are still very shocked. Besides the fact that there is physical damage, there is a very strong psychological impact. However, I am reassured, the injuries are not too serious. We are still all terrified and appalled that the staff of the establishment can do such things. These people no longer position themselves as health professionals, it is not possible.
How did the situation get so bad?
In fact, it is a small group of violent people who seek only destruction. They are not constructive at all and only want one thing, and that is to go in the direction they have decided. They do not accept that there are constraints in their profession and obligations vis-à-vis their patients, their colleagues and their colleagues.
They demand the payment of the salaries of the agents suspended because they are not vaccinated. How many people does this concern?
At the CHU, 95% of the agents are in good standing. The proportion of people suspended therefore represents around 200 people out of a total of 3,665. It is therefore a small minority. You should know that we have proposed to these people, since they do not want to be vaccinated, to be reoriented professionally. They were offered cash assistance as part of professional support. Salaries are therefore a pretext since this union has called for not integrating any support system.
Was calm returned on Wednesday morning at the Pointe-à-Pitre University Hospital?
Yes, by now, calm has returned. We especially need to focus because the fifth wave is here and we are starting to have an increase in emergency room visits, calls to the Samu and hospitalizations. How can we want to work with all these difficulties? It’s terrible. We’re all exhausted. These people did not understand the absolute necessity of facing this fifth wave. From one week to the next, the cases are multiplied by three. So it’s exponential. We know that we have an aging population, with many comorbidities and very little vaccinations. So I am very worried.