Already in crisis, the hospital system is preparing to suffer the shock of a triple epidemic of bronchiolitis, flu and covid-19. Despite the tensions, the Minister of Health, François Braun, has repeatedly denied any “sorting” of children to the emergency room. “For bronchiolitis, I think the pediatric ER had its toughest winter ever. We have had this problem for several years with the transfer of children from one region to another. But when you look at the curves, we had huge bronchiolitis compared to previous winters, ”says Mathias Wargon, emergency doctor and head of service at the Delafontaine hospital in Saint-Denis. “Serious children were treated, but not always in good conditions. We did a little do-it-yourself», explains this doctor, a guest on Friday of «Ciao a casa», the morning of the Senate of the Republic.
“Obviously we do the sorting in the emergency room,” continues Mathias Wargon. “Health Minister François Braun says we don’t sort, he knows what we’re talking about as he is an emergency doctor himself. When we have a lot of people, we have a small tendency to fire patients. Discharge patients from the emergency room is not a problem. Many people come to the emergency room when they would be treated better in the city. The problem is where? our host asks. “We have no city doctors, no network. We didn’t find a solution before we found ourselves in the wall. The lack of city doctors was already a problem when I started my studies in 1985-1986. We didn’t anticipate that at all,” he complains.
“I have been insulted by former senators and senators”
Mathias Wargon also says he is annoyed by the lack of clear directives on covid-19, while the indicators for monitoring the epidemic are rising again. “I haven’t seen anything clear about vaccination, we also don’t know who we should vaccinate,” he underlines. “However we have had problems with vaccinating the population and caregivers for at least 20 years, covid has only brought them to light”.
At this stage, wearing a mask is strongly recommended by the government, but no mandatory measures have yet been taken, either in public transport or in public places. “We have decided to no longer annoy people by wearing a mask. It is a lack of political courage ”, annoys Mathias Wargon. “I have been insulted by former senators and senators. A LR senator wanted to cover me with tar and feathers”, denounces the emergency room doctor, before quoting Sylvie Goy-Chavent, LR senator of Ain, but also denouncing the positions taken by the LR senator of Côte-d Or Alain Houpert, radiologist training, or even the former UDI senator of Paris, Yves Pozzo di Borgo. “I am on the side of France Soir, of all the conspirators, they support the anti-vax and anti-mask movements,” assures Mathias Wargon.
“I challenged Gérard Larcher on Twitter, of course I got no response. On the other hand, when Alain Houpert is condemned by the Medical Association Council, we ask for freedom of expression. Myself, my freedom of expression, when I talk about the mask and the vaccine, is widely questioned by these same people and all those who follow them. »
Also asked about the reintegration of health workers, Mathias Wargon believes it is “a gadget in the debate”. “We know that it is less than 1% of carers. I don’t think we should reinstate them, but we have to offer them something. Especially since populists use it », he adds.
