Relaxed faces, imperturbable silence… It’s hard to imagine such a peaceful intensive care unit. The day after Emmanuel Macron’s visit to the intercommunal hospital center (CHI) of Poissy-Saint-Germain-en-Laye (Yvelines), about twenty kilometers from the center of Paris, the corridors seem deserted, this Thursday, from all animation.
However, the event experienced the day before is on everyone’s lips, not a discussion between colleagues is an exception to the rule, just like the announcement by the government, this Thursday evening, of new reinforced restrictive measures and a re-containment for 12 million d ‘inhabitants in Ile-de-France.
Crossed in the elevator, a nurse from the sheave service is “relieved not to have been through this”. “It was downright madness,” he smiles. I’m glad I didn’t work, I prefer to stay focused on what I have to do. “That is to say, saving lives in this establishment in the Parisian suburbs which accommodates twenty intensive care beds against the usual fourteen. Eight of the twelve beds reserved for patients with Covid are occupied, and six of the eight beds for “non-Covid”.
Emmanuel Macron spoke with staff and managers “mobilized for more than a year to ensure optimal care for patients with Covid-19”, according to the Elysee. “Hold on”, repeated the head of state to them for an hour and a half.
“We know that the wave of the next two weeks will be terrible”
“We have pushed the walls a bit”, summarized Professor Jan Hayon, head of the surgery-anesthesia-intensive care unit, stressing that he “has not slept since Tuesday morning” because the pressure remains “strong” even if the trend is ” pretty much stable ”in recent days. The intercommunal hospital center of Poissy-Saint-Germain-en-Laye is spread over two main sites located in these two cities, about twenty kilometers from Paris. It has 3190 professionals and its capacity is around 1209 beds and places.
On the forecourt, the place is ideal for a cigarette break. A small group of nursing staff share a few anecdotes about their meeting with the President of the Republic. “I went down to see him,” said a nurse, still enthusiastic. With a few colleagues, we were able to talk to him a bit. He told us he was not for weekend confinement. I am convinced that his decision, whatever it is, was taken long before he came to see us, that’s for sure. “
The verdict fell in the evening. “We are a little disillusioned because we thought that social life would resume its rights, analyzes Marc, laboratory technician and CGT secretary. We know that the wave of the next two weeks will be terrible and that all the measures will not change anything. “
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“It’s big nonsense,” says Sandrine, a 51-year-old former medical secretary of the SUD union. We are being taken away from our freedoms on one side and we are making it more flexible on the other by leaving schools open and relaunching outdoor sport. When I see that Mr. Castex begins his intervention by thanking the doctors and epidemiologists of Poissy for reminding Mr. Macron of the gestures that save Mr. Macron, I tell myself that our colleagues in the other hospitals must have a good laugh… ”
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