Besoins, intégration, conditions de travail des anesthésistes-réanimateurs remplaçants dans les centres hospitaliers généraux en région Rhône-Alpes

Abstract

ObjectivesTo evaluate the need for locum anaesthetic coverage and the practical consequences (integration, working conditions, quality and safety) arising during the first 5 days of work, when a temporary position is accepted. Measured parameters1) Telephone enquiry of administrative services of community hospitals (CH) in one French administrative area (Rhône-Alpes) about their need for locum anaesthetists; 2) if a position was offered, it was accepted when the participation to on-call duties was delayed after the first 5 days of work; 3) during the working period, the following characteristics were assessed: integration of the locum anesthesiologist among team members, comparison of practice patterns to national guidelines; 4) data from the Platines-website of the French Ministry of Health were used to quantify indicators of activity and size of the hospitals and search for correlations between these parameters and working conditions of the locum anaesthetist. ResultsOf the 32 CH questioned, 28 were looking for temporary anaesthetic work force but only 11 (35%) accepted a 5-day period before participation to on-call duties and 17 refused this integration period. Four CH declared not to be looking for temporary work force. Characteristics of integration of the locum anaesthetist and standards of work were very different among centers. No hospital administration had a strategy for evaluation of recruited locums. ConclusionTemporary work force in anaesthesia is widely required in CH of the Rhône-Alpes area but this practice had not been formalised. No recruitment strategy was observable. This questions about the institutions’ requirements for anaesthetic services in French public hospitals.