[Communication among hospital leaders]

New management styles imposed on hospital institutions in recent years, have fundamentally changed the organization of the latter. Many texts discuss the consequences, specifically on the field of communication. The aim of this study was to understand the real impact of new management methods on communication by managers in hospital, but also on care teams in termes of satisfaction and/or stress. This two-year study was conducted among 900 executives in hospitals in Western Switzerland using a mixed methodology. A first phase of questionnaires highlighted the problematic areas, while a second phase in the form of organized group interviews in each hospital, had the objective of achieving a better understanding of the relationship between management and communication. The latter proved to be particularly significant in terms of results, and this is the one we focused on in this article.These results indeed show that a crucial role is given to communication by carers, and, at the same time a lessening of the time devoted to relationships, both among peers and with patients. Frustration then arises, which is not without consequences both for the management of patients and the institutions themselves. It is by means of these results that awareness is raised of the omnipresence of communication at all levels and the major advantages that positive dynamic supports. And, on the contrary, of the serious problems which may arise from management practice that do not give due importance to the dimension of communication, present in all sectors of the hospital.