the great fatigue of caregivers in the face of the second wave of Covid-19

Return to the hospital or protect his family? Virginie Vautrin-Chambon is torn apart. Operating room nurse at Lyon-Nord private polyclinic, Rillieux-la-Pape, in the north-western suburbs of Lyon, the 40-year-old currently works two days a week, the rest of the time partially unemployed. On the one hand, the desire to return to battle. On the other, discouragement, the awareness of one’s limits. And fear. “During my first hospitalization, I was a volunteer in a large public hospital in Lyon, I experienced too harsh scenes, daily stress, she says. In the evening, I would come home with a knot in my stomach, wondering if I would pass the virus to my frail husband and my children. “

Even before the numbers of hospitalizations, in the running – with 31,918 patients treated on 11 November, the peak of mid-April (32,131) is practically reached – this second wave of the Covid-19 epidemic that overwhelms caregivers is first of all a ‘ wave of depression. The “extraordinary” collective momentum of spring, which had presided over a crisis no less, gave way to a completely different atmosphere, dominated by bitterness and fatalism. It doesn’t matter the region or the structure.

Between the two waves, the summer wasn’t enough to recharge the batteries. “We were emotionally touched in the spring. There was no drain valve. It was hard to let it go during the holidays and we’re returning to this mess … “, Marc Paulin, intensive care nurse in the pulmonology department of the CHU of Besançon, which already shows more than 100% intensive care occupation, with 49 patients hospitalized on 9 November.

Rejection form

Especially from July-August, despite the epidemic reflux, it was necessary to make up for the delay in the care of patients whose operations had been deprogrammed. ” Was more a recreation than a vacation, we knew that on our return he would not be happy … We expected the epidemic to resume, but perhaps not so quickly “adds Sophie, 49, a nurse at the university hospital in Nantes, on condition of anonymity. At the beginning of November, the number of SARS-CoV-2 infected patients admitted to the Nantes facility is already above the peak reached in early April.

Among some of the caregivers, there was even a form of denial until mid-October. “When the wave started coming, we had a very slow reaction time, recognizes a senior executive of a large Parisian hospital of the AP-HP. We didn’t feel like we had to deprogram and regroup at that point. ” But it was necessary to leave again, to change rooms and floors again, and this time with fewer reinforcements.

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