LR President of the Grand-Est Regional Council, Jean Rottner, 53, is also an emergency doctor in the area of France most affected by Covid-19 in number of cases per inhabitant. For him, the experience accumulated in his region will save time for his colleagues from Ile-de-France on which the coronavirus wave will soon sweep ...
How is the situation developing in the Grand-Est?
JEAN ROTTNER. We do not know when we will be at the peak, it is the big unknown. The work is demanding and exhausting for our teams, faced with great difficulties in admission to intensive care. We carried out many medical evacuations in near France, distant and abroad. It gave us a little air but the beds are quickly full. The wave continues. Today, Strasbourg is the winner. It is expected that there will be a very large increase in admissions to intensive care. In Mulhouse, heavy cases are more and more numerous over the days…
What is the hardest part in the fight against the pandemic?
All. We took a steamroller in the face socially and medically. Hospitals had to prepare fairly quickly for this transformation, unlike Parisian establishments, which were able to learn from our experience. We had to manage, invent, innovate, eliminate medical admissions and surgical procedures, transform our operating rooms into resuscitation rooms. We had to do everything at the same time, learn by walking. This difficulty was also our strength because it united all the teams, bringing the public and the private together.
What problems remain?
There is a shortage of anesthetist drugs, masks, glasses, hence my appeal to companies. We gathered a lot of them in a few days but we still need to organize with the ARS (regional health agency) and the district prefectures on the distribution methods. It shows that we are not yet operational and in times of crisis, when stewardship does not follow it is never good. It must be fluid, homogeneous, otherwise the infantrymen at the front cannot work. I am also fighting to try to distribute the masks across pharmacies and health professionals and the CPAM takes us ... with the RGPD (Editor's note: General Data Protection Regulations) . They refuse to give us their contact details! For me it borders on indecency when you know that these people must do without mask and without protection.
We feel angry…
You do not realize ! At one point I had to pick up the phone to call the chief of staff to the Minister of the Interior to tell him to ask the pilots of his helicopters to follow the protocol in place, to equip and take off. They refused because they were afraid of the Covid-19. We manage these kinds of things all day long.
What is the state of the nursing staff?
They are exhausted morally, physically. It is necessary to hold on the duration, they are confronted with death, with choices. We are made to save life and not watch people die. We are afraid for ourselves, colleagues, family. There is a terrible pressure and pace on the hospital.
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What can we do for them?
We must encourage them. We have set up a psychological support unit. There is also a great surge of solidarity from the population and not only with pizzas or applause. We try to enhance their daily life so that they feel supported. But don't forget that the best support is to stay at home. This is the responsibility that we have towards them.
The wave will sweep over the Île-de-France. Is she better prepared?
The Paris region was able to learn thanks to us and that's great. There was a lot of contact between the medical teams, a lot of dialogues, fraternal discussions. Marc Noizet (Editor's note: head of emergencies in Mulhouse) intervened, François Braun, the boss of Samu-Emergencies of France is from our region (Editor's note: emergency doctor in Metz) . There have been quite a few interactions between the medical and hospital teams and it is always profitable.
Given the size of the population base, should containment be reinforced in Île-de-France?
The French have not all become aware of the danger. On Tuesday, we passed 1100 dead. Every three days, the number of dead is doubled. We must be extremely strict in applying the announced measures. But to completely shut down France is to limit it in its ability to rebound and react. Do not paralyze the country and place the cursor at the right level. But maximum containment for activities not useful to the nation, yes.
What message would you like to send to caregivers in Île-de-France?
Courage, hold on! It’s not going to be easy…