“It was more than necessary”: night nurses will earn 25% more

This Thursday evening, Ingrid took up her post “with a slightly lighter heart.” And soon the wallet replenished a little. From January 1st, the number of long nights this nurse spends in the intensive care unit will be increased by 25%. This was stated by Prime Minister Elisabeth Born this Thursday during a trip to the University Hospital of Rouen (Seine-Maritime).

The measure, designed to “increase the attractiveness of night shifts”, to put it mildly, is expected. “This can only be good news, because our nights are paid very little,” Ingrid sums up, referring to these additional “nine to ten points.” Exactly 9.63 euros gross.

Leakage of caregivers

Faced with an exodus of medical staff from the state hospital, especially during these off-hours, the government had no choice but to pick up the pace. Last week in Ales (Gare), the new Minister of Health, Aurelien Rousseau, set the stage. “Very soon we will make the night and Sunday attractive. It’s time for the evidence,” he told a disappointed white coat during the exchange, which ended at 2:30 a.m.

Nurses love it, and caregivers will end up earning 25% more at night than during the day. “Indexed” increase in salary, which means that the more experienced the nurse, the more she will receive. Up to 350 euros more per month. At the same time, work on Sundays and holidays will be increased by 20%, but this time on the basis of a fixed price, which is between 50 and 60 euros. In total, all measures taken together (including the revaluation of 50% of the guards for doctors) is 1.1 billion revaluations for nurses.

“It won’t be enough to resolve the crisis…”

Julia, 28 years old, a real “night light”. This nurse from the University Hospital of Bordeaux (Gironde) made her choice between 8:30 pm and 7 am. “I like the night because the relationship with the patients is not the same, we have more time with them, we are less distracted by our own affairs, the atmosphere is different,” explains the one who stands at the bedside of the operated kidney recipients. in vascular areas requiring enhanced care and constant attention.

But the priesthood may have been, but there was no financial compensation. “It was more than necessary to make a gesture. The lack of personnel is striking, crying. As a result, nights are forced on “daytime” caregivers who do not want it. This creates a gear. 25% will not be enough to solve the crisis, but it can help a little…”

This is a fragile bet of the majority in front of desperate structures. “If we keep the caregivers, we can reopen the beds. We will also have more opportunities to keep hospitals open on weekends,” Aurelien Rousseau hopes.

Kicking the bottom of the pool to help “get your head out of the water,” the minister imagines. At the same time, it promises greater access to learning and a new service organization that is more humane, more adaptable.

“Money, tendons of war”

“That’s good, but we’re not going to lie to each other: money is still the driving force behind the war,” continues Ingrid, a nurse whose 45 springs make the body less equipped to recover. “You see, this morning I finished at 7 o’clock. Time to go home, eat, take a shower, I went to bed at 8:30. At 11 o’clock I woke up. There are more problems with the body. It’s hard… but it’s a little easier if we at least tell ourselves that there will be something in the end…”