Caregivers feel insecure. Three days after the fatal assault of a nurse at the Reims University Hospital, the Order of Nurses publishes a survey that shows that two-thirds of the nurses interviewed were victims of assault. Faced with worrying figures - nearly half of the nurses assaulted report beatings, François Braun demanded a "zero tolerance".

This statement came during an emergency meeting called after the death of Carène Mezino. This 38-year-old nurse was stabbed earlier this week at her workplace in Reims by a man suffering from psychiatric disorders. However, the meeting was boycotted by most hospital unions, which denounced it as a "communication operation".

"The filing of complaints must be systematic"

It is "an unspeakable tragedy" that illustrates "a context of increased violence," said the Minister of Solidarity and Health. According to the Order, 66% of 31,281 nurses interviewed in April and early May said they had been victims of aggression in their professional life and 73% said they had witnessed such facts. For 15% of these nurse victims or witnesses, it is a situation experienced "every week or so", and for 40%, "several times a year".

François Braun called on representatives of health professionals and the hospital sector to "not let anything pass". Whether it is an insult, a threat or a spit, "the filing of a complaint must be systematic" and employers "each time in support and support," insisted this former head of emergencies of Metz.

The bronca of the trade unions

The minister also called hospitals to account, for which the State spends 25 million euros per year to secure the premises, from parking lighting to the digicodes of secure doors. "That's what this envelope is for, and I want to know how it's used," he added. Other measures will follow "quickly", he promised. A report on the safety of caregivers must also be submitted on June 1 to his minister delegate Agnès Firmin Le Bodo.

However, the College of Nurses called on the government to "address the structural causes of the violence". The latter "are not reduced only to the responsibility of their perpetrators" but also to the "lack of staff, pressure on caregivers, disorganization leading to tension and overwork," says the report of the body. An analysis shared by four of the five main unions of hospital staff (CGT, FO, SUD, Unsa) who refused to participate in the meeting.

  • Health
  • François Braun
  • Caregivers
  • Nurse
  • Violence