By Julien Lagarde
Published on
–
–
–
“I have been an emergency physician for 15 years. I’ve never experienced a summer like this ”. With drawn features and morale reached, Doctor Anne Mahier describes an explosive situation in the emergency room of the Lisieux hospital (Calvados).
The head of department is however used to working just in time. It has almost become the norm in the emergency room. But its service is currently running with 7.6 doctors in full-time equivalent. It would take 13 to meet the needs and ensure a rotation worthy of the name during the night guards.
“We had to occasionally close a night SMUR line, for lack of a doctor. We only intervened in Lisieux intramural. It’s the first time I’ve seen it here ”
Doctor Mahier goes on leave “with a lump in her stomach” because she fears seeing one of her colleagues “flinch”.
Not enough beds in the wards
These problems of medical staff are all the more difficult to manage as the activity of the service remains strong in summer, due to the influx of tourists in the region and the vacations of general practitioners.
Lisieux emergencies receive an average of 100 patients every day. A quarter of them will then be hospitalized. Problem: there are not enough beds in the departments to absorb such attendance (Editor’s note, the hospital is removing beds in the summer in certain departments affected by a decline in activity).
“Patients 24 hours in the corridors”
This is the reason why patients are often crowded in the hallway. The least m2 is used to cram a stretcher.
“Patients were in the corridors for 24 hours. Some are restrained, others drunk and aggressive. We serve meals next to the urine pools… These are not acceptable reception conditions. And I’m not talking about social distancing that is almost impossible to enforce. We are far from our convictions as caregivers ”.
A caregiver recounts that a 13-year-old teenage girl who fell from a horse found herself for several hours in the midst of elderly patients, who were screaming and urinating inconspicuously. A traumatic experience. “Her mother was not happy. We understand it, ”she emphasizes.
The nurses we met this week indicated that they only take a “30-minute break” during their 12-hour days. “We, in eight hours, we don’t even have time to take one” adds another caregiver.
The health crisis has only worsened the situation. Staff should perform PCR tests on people suspected of having Covid. “We have to put on special clothes, do a blood test, an EKG and the test itself. It takes 30-45 minutes per patient ”recalls a nurse.
The first Covid …
The emergency team is counting on the management of the establishment to find a solution. “We had the Covid bonus, that’s good, but that’s not what we were asking for. Above all, we want to work in good conditions. Everyone is tired ”summarizes a nurse.
Has this article been useful to you? Note that you can follow Le Pays d’Auge in the Mon Actu area. In one click, after registration, you will find all the news of your favorite cities and brands.
–
