Tribune. Relationships with those who have lived a lot bring us back to basics, to personal, deep ties. They also make it possible to create a link between different eras and social conditions. They question emergencies, recall fundamentals. In people with impaired physical or cognitive abilities, the goal is to keep the dialogue with the person as lively and authentic as possible. Even if the speech is less clear, even if the expression is only done by gestures and expressions, it must always be listened to and received with attention.
The cry of alarm launched by professionals who support the very elderly was not, however, heard in 2018. And the Covid-19 pandemic has cast a harsh light on their difficulty in living, at home and in institutions.
Faced with the challenges that will continue to grow with demographic changes, it is urgent to act: 2.6 million people will be 85 and over in France in 2020. This number will grow by 70% by 2040 , due to the increase in lifespan and the coming of age of baby boomers. Good news. On condition that we do not refuse to grant the necessary means to take charge of those who need the most care, attention or pleasure: their desire for life is still there; it must be taken into account.
The proposals pile up
Far behind in this area, France is not doing enough to catch up. In the years when Nicolas Sarkozy had serious and well-informed studies carried out, the file was closed without a word. The five-year term of François Hollande saw the adoption of interesting legislative provisions but without the financial means to meet the challenges. The government of Edouard Philippe enabled in-depth and consensual consultation led by Dominique Libault; then a report by Myriam El Khomri on the upgrading of the working conditions of professionals; finally one reflection of Denis Piveteau and Jacques Wolfrom on shared housing, making it possible to avoid isolation at home while remaining “at home” with common services. In the end, 500 submissions from many reports have piled up over the years.
The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the often difficult, even unacceptable, conditions in which the professionals working with the elderly work, at the same time as the suffering of those they take care of.
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