Northern Franche-Comté. Cancerology at Mittan or Trévenans Hospital? What the Unions Say
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Whether they are opposed or in favor of the transfer of the Mittan cancer center to the Nord Franche-Comté Hospital (HNFC) in Trévenans, elected officials (mayors, deputies, senators, etc.) have made their arguments numerous times in recent months. Too often, this has transformed a necessary public health debate into a political war between, on the one hand, the Montbéliard region and, on the other, the Territoire de Belfort, and has fueled bitter hatred.
Was the opinion of Mittan staff, from nurses to hospital service agents (ASH), including doctors and radiographers, asked? "The answer is no," laments Luc Kahl, secretary of the CGT union at the HNFC.
To address this shortfall, the union held a paper consultation from June 10 to 16 before extending it online until June 18. "Around thirty people participated," the union representative said. "Over the past two years, we've also regularly taken the pulse of staff in the various departments."
"The result is clear," he assures. "Across all categories, the vast majority are against the move to Trévenans. The arguments of the teams interviewed are numerous and well-founded."
These highlight "the feeling of well-being of patients linked to the current location, with a structure on a human scale, calming, less anxiety-provoking than the Trévenans hospital"; "a more family-friendly care environment and good accessibility (free parking)"; "the already modernized infrastructure of Mittan with recent renovations and extensions (scanner, MRI, consultations, etc.)".
For them, "the budgets necessary for the transfer would be much more useful for the development of Mittan, for strengthening its workforce, for improving the working conditions of employees and the reception of patients."
For the CGT, "moving services as sensitive as oncology without strong support from field staff could lead to a loss of efficiency. We would run the risk of disrupting a dynamic of proximity and stability, without any concrete gains being identified, for both patients and healthcare professionals."
The union also fears "a loss of staff and skills essential to patient care."
On July 9, around ten elected officials from the North Franche-Comté region opposed to the transfer (1) will meet Yannick Neuder, Minister of Health and Access to Healthcare, in Paris. Initially scheduled for June 24 , this meeting has already been postponed twice.
"We are asking them to relay the arguments of the Mittan staff," demands Luc Kahl, "because it is they, along with the users, who live and know the reality on the ground best."
(1) Deputies Matthieu Bloch (UDR), Géraldine Grangier (RN), Émeric Salmon (RN) and Guillaume Bigot (RN), senators Jacques Grosperrin (LR), Jean-François Longeot (UDI) and Annick Jacquemet (UDI), the president of Pays de Montbéliard Agglomération Charles Demouge (LR) and the mayor of Montbéliard Marie-Noëlle Biguinet (LR).
CNI: “It should be up to staff and patients to decide”
Céline Durosay, president of the National Nursing Coordination (CNI) at the HNFC, is a little embarrassed. When asked about her union's position on the cancer issue, she takes a few seconds to reflect.
"Our position is not clear," she finally said. "There are advantages and disadvantages to maintaining the activity at Mittan, as well as to transferring it to Trévenans."
One of the major advantages of moving to the HNFC, in his eyes, is "security," with the proximity of the emergency and intensive care units in the event of a patient becoming ill, ensuring rapid response from medical teams. "At Mittan, the setting is more pleasant and patient care is more personalized than in a large facility like the HNFC."
Regarding the possible establishment of oncology in Trévenans, there is also a real estate issue, and not a minor one. "There is no space in the existing premises. We will inevitably have to build a new building, encroaching on the parking lots, which are already full. This seems very complicated to me."
She concludes, deploring "the war" between the policies of the Urban Area: "It should be up to the staff and the patients to decide."
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CFDT: “In oncology, the human dimension is essential”
At the CFDT, "we are torn between the desire of colleagues to remain at Mittan, a site on a human scale surrounded by greenery, and the realization of a coherent medical project aimed at bringing oncology closer to the technical platform of the HNFC," summarizes Mélanie Meier, its secretary.
She adds: "This human dimension is no small thing in a discipline like oncology. In the patient's therapeutic journey, the psychological dimension is essential. I have said all of this time and again in the various departments of the institution. The environment is important, both for the care provided and for the working conditions of the caregivers."
She says she's irritated and tired of the "political turf wars" between the Montbéliard region and the Territoire de Belfort. "What must take priority is the quality of care, while the number of cancer patients – all prospective studies show – will explode in the coming years."
Mélanie Meier and the CFDT are now looking ahead to July 9 and the meeting to be held at the Ministry of Health.
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