Delphine Schiltz, edited by Laura Laplaud / Photo credit: Jean-Michel Delage / Hans Lucas / Hans Lucas via AFP
This Sunday, temperatures could reach 35 degrees along the Rhone Valley. A heat which forces accommodation establishments for dependent elderly people (Ehpad) to take some precautions to protect the most vulnerable residents.
The weather will be warm and sunny on Sunday across the country. Météo-France forecasts temperatures that are probably still higher than normal for the coming months. In nursing homes, we prepare for it as best we can. The staff have already started to apply the right gestures to protect the elderly. Europe 1 went to an establishment in the 17th arrondissement of Paris.
Curtains closed, air conditioning at 22 degrees
“I’m looking to see if you still have soda water.” The darkness is almost complete in this room very exposed to the sun, where Francine, a service agent, will take special precautions all summer long. “I’m closing the double curtains. Last year, I went to see the director to send an email to the families. It’s true that it’s not pleasant to see your parents in the dark, but it’s is better compared to the heat”, she assures the microphone of Europe 1.
In the common areas of the property, the air conditioning is set at 22 degrees. The door of Hélène, 95, remains open. “I’m fine, even there, I was cold, I put on a little sweater, we don’t move too…” she testifies.
Ehpads short of staff
Water bottles are piling up on residents’ bedside tables. About twenty of them have a particular follow-up. “Each glass, each half-glass is counted for the most fragile people, so that the monitoring is as close as possible to reality”, explains the director of the establishment. Even if the staff is well-established, Françoise, nursing assistant in an nursing home for more than ten years, fears and regrets the lack of staff. “We are getting organized but it’s heavy,” she says. The heat wave plan for seniors still runs until September 15.