Radical but not exceptional decision at the Villefranche-sur-Saône hospital. Since April 7, 2023, and for at least two months, the emergency department will only receive vital emergencies, due to a lack of staff. For other patients, it is now necessary to turn to city doctors, immediate care centers or even medical homes.
This story, you have already read it a number of times. It is the turn of the Villefranche-sur-Saône hospital to take a radical decision to avoid the closure of the service. The date of April 7 again marks the distress of the hospital system. Due to a lack of staff, the emergency department is forced to set up a protocol for redirecting patients and only receives vital emergencies. And this, with the aim of concentrating the medical teams on the patients who require hospital care.
Usually, the emergency department of Villefranche-sur-Saône welcomes and treats an average of 120 patients per day. Only, among them, on average, 10% of cases do not require hospital treatment. If before the service was able to treat these patients, today it is a luxury that it can no longer afford. There is a lack of a dozen emergency doctors, and caregivers are forced to sort out.
“The nurse who is at the reception of the emergencies sorts out the patients who are about to arrive. It will allow him to classify patients according to severity criteria. This procedure will determine whether patients are in urgent care or not.”, explains Caroline Rutkowski, emergency health manager.
This makes it possible to avoid the famous interminable wait for the patient, who is invited to contact either his doctor, or the immediate care center of Villefranche, or even the medical houses on duty.
“What is important for us is to inform the population of all the care available, including in city medicine, with other structures that can accommodate them, to prevent them from waiting in the emergency room, sometimes many hours because they are not a priority”, emphasizes Anne Metzinger, Deputy Director General of North West Hospitals.
But there too, there can be a problem. “The city offer can also sometimes be saturated, we are aware of this. Afterwards, it’s a job that we do, once again, with them and that we will evaluate with them, to see how many patients it represented, over the two months of this derogatory agreement to redirect patients”, continues the Deputy Director General.
Usually, this operation is reserved for the summer months. Only there it is set up to avoid the closure of the service. The nights are under high tension, with only one emergency doctor instead of two. Despite the presence of medical specialists and interns, the situation worries caregivers.
“It is heartbreaking for any doctor not to be able to take care of his patients properly, testifies Dr Marc du Besset, emergency doctor. The problem that arises is simply a matter of managing the flow of patients and taking care of several immediate life-threatening emergencies, being alone at night..”
Two recruitments are announced for the month of June, as well as the return from maternity leave. But the application of the Rist law since April 3, which plans to cap the remuneration of temporary doctors, is not likely to help the situation.
