The General Inspectorate of Social Affairs did not find any organizational flaw in the establishment, nor any fault on the part of the management.
Seven months after the suicide of a health officer at the Saint-Calais hospital (Sarthe), the General Inspectorate of Social Affairs (Igas) considers that the responsibility of management cannot be questioned. The inspectors indicate, in fact, that they did not find “any fault in the organization of the establishment, nor any fault or inappropriate decision of the management” concerning the agent of about fifty years. However, they signal a climate of tensions that must be defused as quickly as possible.
This survey had been carried out at the request of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health last July because several letters received after the death of the executive accused the management. To explain his act, the former nurse notably cited an interview which took place on June 17, 2016. The purpose of this meeting with the management was to formalize his promotion as a health executive after 9 months of training. He was to take up his duties on 1er July 2016, when he committed suicide at his home.
Promotion imposed
In their report, the inspectors specify that this promotion went against the wishes of the interested party although he formally accepted it. They add that this “assignment corresponded to a vacant post, in line with his status and his experience”. They nevertheless stress that “this position is one of the most difficult at the Saint-Calais Hospital Center”.
In fact, after having collected 80 testimonies, the inspectors report that this tragedy took place against a background of discord between staff and management. In this hospital undergoing restructuring, the management had to undertake major transformations, “inevitable sources of tension”. They mention in particular an internal mobility “sometimes imposed” on “fuzzy criteria”.
It would also be “unsuitable”. Result: even if these situations are in the minority, they are perceived “like that a pressure or a sanction” and constitute a psychosocial risk. Added to this is “the instability of schedules and reminders on rest days, with a strong impact on the personal lives of agents”. A problem common to many hospitals.
On the basis of this observation, the Igas mission recommends “immediately initiating” the training of personnel, in particular health managers, in the prevention and identification of psychosocial risks. For these subjects relating to interpersonal skills and well-treatment, it would be best to use trainers outside the establishment, note the inspectors of the Igas. They also propose to implement “paid incentives for occasional replacements to avoid recalls on rest”.
A report that revives tensions
As for union representatives, this report does not reflect the reality on the ground. Questioned by our colleagues from France Blue, Gaëlle Lapalus, of Force Ouvrière confided: “We have agents who are on sick leave, who no longer want to return to the hospital but who do not know how to find work elsewhere. We have agents who are followed by psychologists. It is excruciating ”. The CGT, a union not represented in the hospital, for its part indicated that it would demand the resignation of the director of the establishment from the Regional Health Agency and the prefecture.
On the other hand, on the side of the direction it is another story. For Marie-Bernadette Ponthoreau, the director, “this report re-establishes the truth”. She added that the hospital had already set up several working groups related to mobility and schedules.
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