For more than two years, the association “Sauvons l’Hôpital B2B” has been waging a fierce fight to preserve the health services of the Bagnères-de-Bigorre hospital, in the heart of the Haute-Bigorre valley.
After numerous mobilizations, including the large demonstration and the “dead city” operation of October 4, 2023, commitments were obtained from the Regional Health Agency (ARS) and the prefect of Hautes-Pyrénées: appointment of a dedicated director, promise to install a scanner, and in the longer term, that of an MRI, as well as the maintenance of emergency services in Bagnères-de-Bigorre.
Emergency operation criticized
However, despite the arrival of the new director on July 1, the association denounces a very worrying situation in the Bagnères emergency room. According to her, nearly 90% of the service is provided without the presence of emergency doctors, drastically reducing treatment capacity. This summer, emergency workers were only present for six days in June, five in July and two in August.
The situation is all the more alarming as the SMUR (Mobile Emergency and Resuscitation Service), which depends on the presence of an emergency doctor, is almost systematically unavailable. The vehicle remains immobilized at the fire station, being able to intervene only in the presence of a doctor. “Without these resources, serious pathologies such as heart attacks, strokes or hemorrhages see their vital prognoses significantly worsened by the distance to travel to a care center.“.
The association denounces a “disguised closure” of emergencies. Telephone regulation via the 15 almost systematically leads to transfers to the Tarbes hospital, creating a traffic jam of patients which could have been avoided if the Bagnères hospital provided certain care. This drop in attendance could be used as a pretext to justify the permanent closure of the emergency department.
Recruitment of doctors: a lack of will?
The association reveals that four emergency doctors volunteered to work in Bagnères, but no initiative was taken by the ARS or the hospital management to recruit them. This situation raises questions among the members of the association who wonder if the ARS is not deliberately seeking to reduce emergency activity.
A private imaging center project that worries
The association fears that this private installation compromises the ARS’s promise to install a fixed and permanent scanner in Bagnères, especially since the equipment planned for the hospital would be a mobile model, temporarily rented. This model would be the complete financial responsibility of the hospital, an expense that the latter could not bear alone.
Concerns for the future of public service
The “Save the B2B Hospital” association deplores a lack of transparency and a health policy which seems to favor private establishments to the detriment of public service. According to them, the ARS must respect the commitments made publicly on October 4, 2023 to guarantee an accessible and efficient public hospital.
If the private imaging center were to develop, the association fears for the future of the radiology department at Bagnères hospital, essential in particular for the proper functioning of the rehabilitation department. Without this equipment, doctors would no longer be able to properly treat patients, thus compromising the entire local healthcare system.
For the association, it is imperative that the Bagnères emergency rooms return to normal operation with the permanent presence of emergency doctors in order to ensure not only the sustainability of the scanner, but also that of the entire hospital.
A mobilization that continues
“Save the B2B Hospital” calls on the ARS and local authorities to respect their commitments and put a stop to what they perceive as a creeping privatization of health services. The association remains determined to continue its fight for a quality public service, accessible to all, and invites the population to remain vigilant and continue to mobilize.
