Thierry Leraitre did the math: “In December we only had one day, the 8th, with less than 1,000 calls. And again, we had received 965. We have up to 1700 calls a day! » The Samu du Calvados emergency doctor sees the flambé adjustment plate, especially since this summer. In just a few years, with a little more hindsight, the business more than doubled, overwhelming the emergency room.
“More and more officials and bodies are asking the people dial 15, resumes the doctor. We are the Swiss Army Knife of medicine, the last to answer. “With the many winter outbreaks this year, there is no shortage of patients on the phone. Not to mention all the other ailments, inconveniences and injuries. And the CHU, even faced with the congestion of its Emergency Department, has introduced, like many hospitals before it, the mandatory regulation by 15. Concretely, anyone in difficulty must first call the Samu, who decides whether or not to admit the Emergency Department, referring them to another medical solution if necessary.
However, these famous other solutions are missing according to José Monteiro, medical regulatory assistant for forty years: “Many people tell us that they are looking for a doctor. Serious cases are resolved. But when someone calls, coughs and doesn’t feel well, what do you do? Emergency rooms are overcrowded. The wait is very long. As for the doctors, they are already overwhelmed with work. » For these famous serious cases, the Samu voice server suggests pressing the 1 key to signal a serious emergency (some even abuse this). This is Samu’s core business. But according to Thierry Leraitre, today only 5 to 7% of calls are for emergencies. “An anomaly,” according to the doctor.
Lack of human and material resources
The management of the Caen university hospital has become aware of the situation, notes José Monteiro, also secretary of the Force Ouvrière in the establishment. The reinforcements, punctual for some, increase the numbers a little. During the day, 6 dispatch attendants are usually on deck. Three or four more take over during the night. I’m on the front line. “We establish the medical record and prioritize calls. On Thursday (Dec. 29), during my last shift, I spent 70% of my time on the phone. That’s three times more than it should. We pick up, we listen, we call back, we try to find solutions,” the regulator said.
When the case is most urgent, José Monteiro and his colleagues transfer calls to the team’s four emergency physicians… when they are all present. “The other day we had an operation. Two of them went there. So there were only two left. It was an impossible mission”, deplores the trade unionist, who never stops asking for “means for the Samu”. Human and… material, “because our room lacks workstations and the software sometimes struggles to keep up with so many calls”.
Too many calls to the family doctor
These hundreds of phone calls relating to general practice matters appear to be the crux of the matter. “We should have four or five general practitioners during the day at Samu,” pleads Thierry Leraitre, who thinks liberal doctors won’t come back to the rescue. “We need to involve doctors more from their offices. There are doctors’ office secretaries telling people to call 15. We feel like we’ve become a call center for everything and everything, to do secretarial work for each other. “What also alters the attractiveness of this emergency profession according to the doctor.
While “the number of calls will not decrease” according to Thierry Leraitre, what about solutions, even if only in the short term? “There isn’t any,” replies the emergency room doctor in a tired tone, who believes that “everything must be reformed.” José Monteiro would like at least to have “the mobile number of general practitioners to refer their patients when it is not a serious case”.
While waiting for hypothetical reforms, Thierry Leraitre warns: “We tell people to call 15. We are doing the job as best we can but they will wait. “More than an hour on the phone for some, we are told. An echo of the CHU Emergencies where, “on Wednesday (December 28), the average length of time in service before hospitalization was 26 hours, and 13 hours for an exit at the end of the consultation”.
The arrival of former emergency doctor François Braun at the helm of the Ministry of Health bodes well but, according to the Caen doctor, from the height of his 26 years of profession, “puts bandages on a wooden leg. For example, we benefited from a temporary revaluation until March. I think Francois Braun is limited in what he can do. Governments and parliamentarians should experience all of this from within. If a deputy broke his leg, he would see how we deal with emergencies today ”. One thing is certain: he should arm himself with patience.
