At the Valenciennes hospital, the new year begins as the previous one ended. With an emergency room that folds underneath”a very sustained activity“For several weeks. And that, as a domino effect, it is affecting all the wards of the Valenciennes hospital. At issue? Seasonal diseases and a much stronger and earlier flu epidemic than in previous years.
“Down times
in extended office”
Antoine Maisonneuve is head of the adult emergency department and of the SMUR. He is also deputy head of the intensive care unit: “We are currently experiencing sustained activity in the ER, with great strain now for three weeks now. All this is related to seasonal epidemics, flu, Covid and RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) which affect emergencies in adults, but also in children.“. “Among adults, activity is much higher than usual, with an average increase in the activity rate of 25%. We also peaked at 50% a few days ago. These are patients of all ages, affected by seasonal ailments. And inevitably, internal activity is very strong, both in and outside the intensive care unit. This means that we are currently facing difficulties in treating patients, with extended treatment times (…) Currently, some patients have to wait several hours on a stretcher before they can be treated.“, continues Dr. Antoine Maisonneuve.
A surplus
of activities to integrate
“We are facing a cascading phenomenon that we must manage collectively“, adds Dr. Antoine Lemaire, head of the division of oncology and medical specialties, and vice-president of the Medical Commission of Establishment (CME) of the Valenciennes hospital center. “This tense situation in the emergency room comes as we continue to have very strong activity in all other departments of the hospital as well. We have to integrate this surplus activity, and that makes things extremely complex“. “We are also affected by viruses within the staff themselves, with sick leave. And this adds even more difficulties (…) In the hospital center everything is interdependent. We are the reference structure for the whole territory and host a very large number of specialties, especially for very complex pathologies. However, currently, we must continue this already sustained activity, managing these seasonal pathologies“, continues Dr. Antoine Lemaire.
Seasonal epidemics whose end is not yet in sight. “We haven’t reached the peak of the flu epidemic yet.” explains Dr. Antoine Maisonneuve. “This epidemic is much more pronounced than in previous years in terms of patient volume. It is also much earlier and is now 12 weeks before the 2022 flu outbreak.“. “The causes of this situation are multifactorial and do not concern only Valenciennes. Everyone is affected by it (…) The evolution of society, the medical desertification of some sectors of the territory, the difficulties in accessing a general practitioner… There are numerous causes that can explain the current tense situations“, indicates Dr. Nabil Elbeki, head of the intensive care unit. But in the meantime it is the hospital and all its staff that have to deal with it.
Due to this situation, the hospital necessarily also sees all of its staff grappling with this hypertensive activity.
“Teams
congratulate and say hello”
“The public hospital had already been where most of the Covid crisis had been handled. Already at the time we were lucky enough to be able to count on a highly invested nursing staff. And for that, we can already thank him enormously“, explains Dr. Antoine Lemaire. “Right now, this same staff faces another event. And here too his professional commitment is remarkable (…) A lot has been asked in recent years of the hospital, which has to manage crises, in addition to its usual activity, already very supported in Valenciennes. All the medical and administrative teams who welcome patients are really to be congratulated and saluted“, say doctors Antoine Lemaire, Antoine Maisonneuve and Nabir Elbeki.
