The French trust caregivers but fear for the future of public hospitals

The French have confidence in their caregivers and in the public hospital. This is the main indication that emerges from the Health Observatory survey carried out by Odoxa for the MNH (National Mutual Hospitals), Franceinfo, Le Figaro health and the SciencesPo Health Chair. This study, made public on October 6, is based on the responses in mid-September of 2,004 French people representative of the French population according to the quota method, and of 3,910 hospital professionals including 1,557 nurses. These two samples answered questions about the relationship of the French, and health professionals, to health establishments as well as between the different actors.

Thus, if 77% of French people and 84% of caregivers are worried about “the overall health situation of the country”, this fear diminishes when it comes to their own health, and reaches 57% of hospital users surveyed and 61% for caregivers. Faced with this global apprehension, the French especially trust nurses (96%) to fight against Covid-19. Hospital staff come in second place (94%), followed by “health staff in general” (93%) and doctors (92%). The Ministry of Health registers only 46% of confidence. According to the same survey carried out last April – in full confinement – ​​the health executive gains 10 points of popularity while other health professionals lose 1 or 4 points. This hierarchy of trust is of the same order among the different health personnel interviewed. Hospital staff and nurses are the most critical of the Ministry of Health (33% confidence).

Compared to the health crisis last spring, more than 8 out of 10 respondents believe that the hospital system is doing “came out well”. For a large majority of French people (63%), the future of health establishments is a social issue “Very important”. Thus, 34% believe that it is “rather important” and a tiny minority (3%) think it is “not important” youire “not important at all”. However, two thirds of respondents believe that this issue is not taken into account by the public authorities and 8 out of 10 people feel that this system is in danger. Similarly, 9 out of 10 health workers say the quality of care will deteriorate in the future. A gloomy perspective shared by 6 out of 10 French people, who record a renewed optimism (+14 points) since another survey conducted in 2018. A perspective that they link to the current financial, human and material resources of public hospitals that they think 82% insufficient. Here again, the gloomy picture is being reduced a little bit since last April, they were 6% more to think so. Of these pessimists, a third are adamant while almost half prefer the moderate”rather insufficient”. Hospital staff are more categorical and say 45% that the current means are “totally not enough”.

Hospital system to be reinvented

By questioning the French and the hospital staff, dissension arises. A majority of French people think that the care pathway is satisfactory (56%), while hospital staff do not share this opinion (unsatisfactory at 67%). Perhaps it is the propensity of the French to go to the emergency room to be taken care of quickly which divides the opinions: some find it more practical and safe, while the others believe more that these services are saturated by inadequate requests. . From this observation comes another vision of the relationship between the hospital and its environment. For a majority of French people, the links between the hospital and the medico-social sector, city medicine, the families of patients, patient associations or other liberal health professionals are “as it should” (56%). For health professionals, all the links in this health microcosm are insufficient (56%). For them, the most distended link (65% unfavorable opinion) is that between the hospital and city medicine. An illustration of the difficulty of finding a general practitioner outside working hours? However, the nursing staff attenuates their dissatisfaction with the patient’s family/hospital relationship (46% consider it “insufficient” against 44% “good enough”).

With regard to hospital users, two thirds of hospital staff claim to have noticed a change in public attitude: 31% better respect for barrier gestures, 25% better mutual aid between different professions and hospital statuses, 19% less requests to the emergency room for minor injuries and only a 9% reduction in incivility. Close-knit hospital teams? If 56% of managers consider themselves to be “listened better”the proportion is the same on the side of the managed but in the opposite feelings “rather not” Where “not at all”.

Good external image but professions considered difficult

However, the health professions are above all a vocation for 8 out of 10 health professionals. A much stronger choice than for the whole of the French population who consider that they have made the same choice at 53%. If medicine still has a good image — 71% of French people”would recommend” their child to be a doctor and 64% a nurse —, the other health professionals have the blues and would not recommend their profession to their child, i.e. 74% for all nursing staff including 77% for nurses and 48 % for hospital doctors.

All dimensions of the profession of hospital practitioner are considered to be deteriorating: both working conditions (84%), remuneration (71%) and the interest of the profession (85%). Hospital staff are convinced that their work is not recognized at its fair value (82%) and that they do not have motivating career prospects (74%). As a result, the job dissatisfaction of hospital practitioners continues to grow, going from 36% in November 2017 to 56% today. The consequences of this damaged image and this dissatisfaction with the work of caregivers are serious: they do not spend enough time with their family (67%), which generates tensions with them (60%) and they also run risks. of burn-out much more important than the others (65% vs 39%). When will another hospitable world?