The state of health of caregivers is worrying and must become a strategic “priority” of the health system, warns a report submitted Monday to the government, which proposes avenues for a ministerial “multi-annual roadmap”, scheduled for December . The Minister Delegate in charge of health professions, Agnès Firmin le Bodo, entrusted a mission in March to three professionals (nurse, surgeon and general practitioner), and launched a consultation, which brought together nearly “50,000 contributions” from caregivers.
A secondary issue
“Although these professionals have permanent contact with care, their own health is too often a secondary issue, which only comes into consideration far too late in the face of the evolution of an illness or pathology,” underline the authors. This “increasing difficulty” has been “highlighted” by the Covid-19 pandemic.
According to the results of this consultation, the weekly working time of caregivers exceeds on average 40 hours, including 46 hours for self-employed professionals and 53 hours for general practitioners. Two thirds (64%) feel tired, and 77% believe they don’t get enough sleep. When asked to give a rating to their level of stress, more than a quarter gave a rating of 9/10 (10/10 being major stress).
More than one in two caregivers (55%) say they have experienced one or more episodes of professional burnout, a proportion which rises to 61% among nurses and caregivers, or 62% among doctors. Furthermore, 60% suffer from chronic pain and a third admit to not having a healthy diet.
“Interministerial structure”
To make their health a “priority”, the mission proposes in particular to create a dedicated “interministerial structure”. She recommends a communication campaign and knowledge development, via an “annual review” of caregivers and students or even through a dedicated university course. The authors call for training professionals and introducing specific indicators into establishment certification processes.
They recommend “rethinking” the occupational medicine offer, with “multidisciplinary teams” focused on prevention, led by a doctor and possibly including advanced practice nurses (APN). They still insist on “the urgency of structuring a robust healthcare offer” in town for these professionals, the need for “24-hour access to a confidential listening service” or a “single platform” bringing together various forms of assistance (hospital, psychological, administrative, legal, etc.)