On the glass door, a sign has been hung: “Operation Resilience”.
In disused premises of the Martinique University Hospital, overwhelmed by the influx of Covid patients, the soldiers who came to reinforce the metropolis deployed 20 intensive care beds in a few days.
In total, 79 soldiers "experienced in resuscitation", who had already "taken care of serious Covid patients in their original structures", settled almost two weeks ago in this former operating theater disused since 2017.
The “viral zone” was delimited by a tarpaulin: in an old reorganized recovery room, caregivers in charlotte, gowns, gloves and protective glasses, are working to perform a bronchial endoscopy on a Covid patient;
others try to put a patient on her feet on nasal oxygen therapy.
Further on, in an operating room, two sleeping patients benefit from invasive ventilation.
"There is work," concedes the chief medical officer of the Military Resuscitation Module (MMR), who does not wish to be identified.
"Currently, the youngest of the patients is 27 years old, the oldest 72", he explains.
Exceptionally, 15 beds are occupied, because a medical evacuation has made it possible to free up places.
"They will fill up very quickly, in a few hours, everything will be full," warns the head doctor.
But he prefers not to talk about war medicine.
“We are doing hospital disaster medicine, which is a part of the medicine that emerged in 2015 (during the attacks in Paris, Editor's note), on a sudden reality: the massive influx of victims.
We also have another modality, which is the emerging biological risk, ”he explains.
Since the start of the epidemic, the military have intervened as part of Operation Resilience, launched by President Emmanuel Macron on March 25, 2020. One of their most publicized actions had been the establishment of a hospital military campaign in Mulhouse (Haut-Rhin), particularly affected by the first wave of the epidemic.
Read also Martinique: the health crisis in the eye of the Parisian
"Health situation exceeded"
In Martinique, no tents.
“We are in the intertropical zone, at the time of the cyclones.
The deployment of these 20 beds in tents would have constituted an unreasonable risk, while we have permanent premises, ”explains the chief medical officer.
He explains: “The deployment of Mulhouse was based on the model of autonomy, because we were on French territory, and close to our supply sites.
Here, the model is that of support-insertion: we represent a functional unit among those of the CHU, and patients are referred to us by the services of the CHU.
We got involved ”.
This model has already been deployed during previous waves of the epidemic in Guyana, Guadeloupe and Mayotte.
The watchword: "We adapt to the premises that are offered to us".
The chief doctor praised the work of the CHU, which "between two previous waves" had begun to prepare certain disused rooms, in anticipation of a heavier crisis, which made it possible to quickly arm the first ten beds.
"In 48 hours, we installed five then ten beds", confirms the chief doctor Yves, anesthesiologist-resuscitator of the unit, who evokes "a logistical challenge" to set up all the complex medical environment necessary around the patient. .
"We expected to have to take care of patients very quickly, we knew that we were arriving in an outdated health situation, in any case very advanced," he adds.
At the entrance of the military unit, the families of the sick await news of their loved ones. The nurse manager Sylvie is in direct contact with them. "It is very significant: they thank that we came to help them, to support the CHU and the caregivers".