“We are better prepared” but “not serene”, reacts the Association of Directors of Services for the Elderly

“We are not calm in the face of this heat wave”reacts Eric Fregona, deputy director of the Association of Directors serving the elderly (AD-PA) Monday July 18 morning on franceinfo, before this day of exceptional heat in a large part of France.

>> LIVE. Heat wave: the peak of heat expected today on the Atlantic coast, 40 degrees expected in several regions, including in Brittany

Fifteen departments are on heatwave red vigilance this Monday. The 15,000 deaths of the 2003 heat wave remain in people’s minds, however, this catastrophic scenario should not be expected: “We are much better prepared, clear on the procedures. There is a vigilance and information plan. We anticipate orders for water and misters in the spring. We have air-conditioned rooms with quiet activities“, explains Eric Fregona, deputy director of the AD-PA.

“However, we are not calm in the face of this heat, the intensity of which is increasing and which has a very long duration”, he says. Especially since these conditions are accompanied by structural problems according to him: “There is a crisis of vocations because the State has not initiated reforms. We are short of arms. We are calling on the public authorities to commit, with in particular two additional positions in each establishment. We need a law for old age !”

“The revaluation of the profession is not enough, all the reports say so. France must question the level of investment that we put in the most vulnerable.”

Eric Fregona

at franceinfo

On the people monitored at home, who represent “half” of the AD-PA network, “We are trying to have more regular contact“explains Eric Fregona. “The average of our interventions is 1 hour a day, so 23 hours out of 24 hours, they are alone. We try to increase contact on the phone, we remind people of the right gestures, not to remain isolated, to follow the recommendations in hydrating, closing shutters and windows as much as possible during the day, ventilating at night… But there is a funding problem, we have to write a new story with a law”, concludes the Deputy Director of AD-PA.