Since the summer season has begun and the territory’s population has tripled, the unit has been swimming in troubled waters.
Once a week, the manager takes part in a “crisis meeting” with the Regional Health Agency (ARS) to alert on tensions, anticipate emergency problems in Var-Est and find solutions.
Gabriel Moncheaux is relatively satisfied. Since July 18 and until August 20, the hours of the on-call medical center have been extended from 12 p.m. to midnight on “permission” of the ARS – 6 p.m. to midnight in normal times.
An additional line of duty has been created in the emergency room, in which a doctor works 24 hours as backup. SOS doctors also offers five daily slots for hospital caregivers to redirect patients to a general practitioner if necessary.
Without Draguignan at night, activity doubled
But the emergency doctor does not remain confident. “It’s always good to take… Except that it’s not enough. To function in 24 hours of guard, it is debatable. In the end, we are good for nothing. Our activity has doubled since the closure of night emergencies in Draguignan. Every day we have to ensure the health security of around 200 patients during the week, 240 during the weekend. At night, it’s sometimes worse: we see between 30 and 40 passages.”
Without forgetting this estimate that sends shivers down your spine: “Historically, the weekend of August 15 is the explosion. We have already had nearly 300 passages during the day. The? We are told 350! We are in total uncertainty.”
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On average, 20 to 30 beds are missing
Because the establishment is not big enough to accommodate everyone. On average, 20 to 30 beds are missing.
And there are not enough medical personnel. Currently, the assistant manages a staff of 21 physicians (full-time equivalents). “For a target workforce of 25. And 36 nurses (full-time equivalents), while we want 38, even 40.”
Gabriel Moncheaux fears the worst. According to him, “it only takes two simultaneous sick leaves to jeopardize” son service. “It’s hard to replace one. So two… I don’t think we’ll last until the end of the season. East-Var hospitals (Saint-Tropez and Brignoles, Editor’s note) say they are close to breaking up. But we too are falling apart. And we can’t close.”
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