It was an unpleasant surprise that awaited Wednesday morning, Professor Stéphane Burtey, pushing the door of the nephrology department under his charge, at the Conception Hospital in Marseille. "The nurses informed me that 400 masks had disappeared," he reports to the Parisian. They were however in a reserve closed by a digital lock… ”The day before, the University Hospitals of Marseille (AP-HM) had announced the sudden evaporation of 2000 surgical masks, stored at the level of the central block of this same establishment. An area, which, according to the AP-HM, is "used only by carers and patients, 90% of whom are under anesthesia ..."
While the coronavirus epidemic is accelerating in France, with this Thursday 377 contaminations and six deaths recorded, the health authorities announced that they were going to requisition the stocks of masks by decree, in order to prevent an intensification of the 'epidemic. They will only be available in pharmacies upon presentation of a prescription.
Opening the door to parallel trade, which would be supplied in particular in hospitals? Stéphane Burtey is convinced of this: “Here, we are not on a flight of three masks for personal use, but on 400… Obviously there is a desire to resell. The person who stole them had an idea in mind, because in this reserve is also stored equipment, like dressings, much more expensive. "
"It can be anyone"
Unsurprisingly, for the past few days, announcements of the resale of these masks have been invading the Internet and certain market stalls.
There, it is a box of 20 FF2P masks (equipped with a particle filter), sold for 40 euros on the site Le bon coin. Here, a small ad posted on Twitter - we do not know if the author is really, as he claims, a nurse - who offers these same FFP2 masks at ... 10 euros, mentioning the word "coronavirus". And on a Saint-Denis market, they are offered at 2 euros each.
It denounces the @ OrdreNfirmiers this kind of thing? pic.twitter.com/QYcDzp5Hxq
- Vie De Carabin (@VieDeCarabin) March 4, 2020In Marseille, this disappearance of equipment had no impact on the operation of the Conception Hospital, which had sufficient stocks and only had to recommend them. But the situation rages Stéphane Burtey, who works with patients who are often immunocompromised.
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"We need it, it's our working tool," protested the nephrologist. When a patient arrives for a consultation, we have to put on a mask. It has been shown to be effective in preventing the spread of a virus. However, he believes that the criminal did not come from his service. “Here everyone trusts each other, we work in an open structure, it can be anyone. He is above all a person who lacks civility! "
A complaint filed
Since then, the rules for securing stocks have changed in the hospital. A memo was issued in order to "remind staff of the rules of use" and the remaining masks were moved to a place kept as secret as possible, he said. An internal investigation was opened and a complaint was lodged at the police station, also tells us the AP-HM, which underlines that “there have always been thefts, sometimes of only one or two boxes of masks, but never as many in so little time… "
These flights may surprise, especially since Marseilles, like other hospitals concerned, in Nantes and Nice for example, are not among the main centers of contamination. Same observation in Calvados. "In recent days, there have been thefts of dozens of masks and bottles of large hydroalcoholic solution from several departments," explains a hospital doctor in the department. We don't have much left and we had to lock them up. "If these disappearances had no impact on his work, this practitioner, whose service had to recommend stocks, said nevertheless" a little disgusted with this incivism, especially if it is the fact of agents hospital ». Because this material was, according to him, not very accessible to the general public. He despairs: "I think you have to be in the shop to do that ..."
"It puts caregivers even more on edge ..."
Patients and their families may also have played a role in this looting. At the Robert Debré hospital in Paris, some masks directly available to the public have vanished. “Each room is equipped with a hydroalcoholic solution dispenser and masks. And some of these materials have been stolen in recent days, ”says a nurse working in a pediatric department. In his service, thefts are however usual. “When a container of hydroalcoholic gel disappears, we know that families have loaded it, it is a reality. We have the same problem with remote controls for televisions: out of 20, we only have two left… ”, she explains.
As in other hospitals, the young woman also deplores thefts in her reserve, opening only with a code. Causing a climate of suspicion between the caregivers. “The theft of equipment takes place all year round and we are increasingly identifying who are the people who use it voluntarily, but there the situation is different. We are on the disappearance of very specific equipment and that puts the caregivers even more on edge… ”, she noted, well aware that her service which looks after children, has much more significant resources than other units.
But the risks to their health are also higher. "We are dealing with patients who are fragile and these flights have a real impact on care ... As the masks are now locked up and given to us drop by drop, at the end of my night on call, yesterday, I had to count the number of masks I had left, in order to establish if I could enter the children's rooms, ”she protested. On Tuesday, the Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP) announced that it had noticed the theft of at least 8,300 masks in its establishments.