With thick files under her arm and a rolling suitcase in her hand, nurse Kezban Zengin Tanriverdi visits Juan Marques and Béatrice Rossier for the first time on this December morning in a village in the Drôme. The stairs to the accommodation are narrow. Several cats sitting on cupboards and the dog Noisette welcome the newcomer. In the living room, which has been converted into a bedroom, Kezban Zengin Tanriverdi greets his future patient, who is lying on the sofa.
65-year-old Béatrice Rossier is tired and worried. She has just been diagnosed with advanced cancer and doesn’t want to go to the hospital. Kezban Zengin Tanriverdi is on site to administer his medication and enable him to continue his chemotherapy at home, working with the hospital and other medical professionals. This home health aide will be there for him in the coming weeks. “My job is to make contacts and give these people self-confidence. »
Being sick with cancer and being hospitalized at home… Although the trend is very marginal in France (according to the Association of Home Nurses, it affects around 2% of sufferers), it is developing when chemotherapy can be administered orally or intravenously . In 2020, 21,300 patients were treated in their homes at the same time. But these systems, which require the coordination of many stakeholders, also rely on home health aides, a shadow profession that is nevertheless essential.
Local health actors
Little recognized by the medical world, these professionals – not all of whom have a health diploma and who intervene in both sleep apnea and the installation of a medical bed – have been waiting for years to be better considered.
“Our real fight is recognition by the authorities, because the economic balance of our companies, mostly small structures, is precarious, even if we have become indispensable to the health system, explains Nicolas Balmelle, spokesman for the Union of Independent Home Health Providers (Upsadi). We weren’t even invited to the National Startup Council, even though our staff is constantly traveling all over the area. When we talk about medical deserts, we can intervene at any time and anywhere in the country. »
In December, the union thought it had finally caught the attention of the health minister. “We were received by an advisor to Minister Aurélien Rousseau. He seemed to listen, to understand our problems, continues Nicolas Balmelle. But… “ The minister resigned a few days later. “We have to start again. » The sector’s other representative body, the Federation of Home Health Providers, also advocates for their status and recognition in the public health law as local health actors.
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