“I felt abandoned,” sobs Melvin, 19, of the death of his mother, Patricia Urcel, 53.
On September 8, this resident of Clichy (Hauts-de-Seine) succumbed to cardio-respiratory arrest at Bichat hospital (Paris) after contracting Covid-19.
Patricia Urcel, 53, was an executive assistant.
DR
Two days before, the patient and then one of her brothers had called Samu 92 twice to ask for help.
Without success.
It was only after a third call that they moved, a few hours before the death of this woman.
His son, Melvin, and his brothers, Emmanuel and Pierre Michaël, decided to file a complaint against X, on March 30, with the Nanterre court, for “manslaughter”, “obstruction of care” and “non-assistance to anyone. in danger ”, in order to denounce the late reaction of the Samu.
An approach supported by the Coronavictimes association.
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“We would like an investigation to understand what happened.
Is this the regulator's decision?
Did he have guidelines for sorting patients?
»Asks Emmanuel, in his sister's apartment where Melvin still lives.
On a frame, Patricia's hazel eyes frame a shy smile.
"She was so generous," he slips affectionately.
An oxygen level of 22%
But his voice darkens as he sinks back into his memories.
On September 6, Patricia, positive for Covid-19, calls Samu 92 for the first time. At the end of the line, a regulator considers, after having listened to her symptoms, "that there is no distress" and invites her to "especially not to go to the emergency room".
In the hours that follow, the fifty-something however struggles to get up from her sofa.
"She was out of breath, like after a sprint, just walking a few yards," Melvin recalls, pointing sadly to the hallway adjoining the room.
The next day, September 7, Emmanuel, worried, went to his sister's home.
“It seemed too weak to be moved ourselves,” he sighs.
The latter goes to buy an oximeter in a pharmacy to check his oxygen level.
“The device displayed 22% while the standard must be between 95 and 100!
Anguished, he recalls the Samu.
The regulator, skeptical, replied that with "such a rate, she would be dead", adding that "the device must have a problem".
Emmanuel then tests it on his nephew.
“He was walking very well!
»He comes to life, taking his head in his hands.
"She manages to speak, it is a priori, everything is going well"
Because, from there, a dialogue of the deaf, "surrealist", seems to settle between the regulator and the brother of the victim, which is based on the transcripts of the call transmitted by the hospital to the family.
For example when the latter evokes the difficulties of Patricia to speak.
“She still manages to speak, it is a priori, everything is going well, answers the regulation assistant.
If it gets worse, we'll have to send someone.
"" It's been a week since it got worse!
»Replies Emmanuel.
However, his interlocutor repeats that it will be necessary to call back “if the situation deteriorates.
But there, I really don't think there is a need for now. "
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That same evening, Patricia went into cardiac arrest.
Melvin, who has been living alone with his mother since his father's death, phones Samu at 8:39 p.m.
"They told me to give him a heart massage," the young man cracks, his eyes cloudy with tears.
A team ends up taking the 50-year-old to the hospital.
On September 8, she died of a second cardiac arrest there at 1 a.m.
“His organs were not oxygenated.
The head of the department confided that it was not normal for Patricia to arrive so late for treatment, ”Emmanuel reports.
When Pierre-Michaël loses his temper: "She should have been taken care of from the first call!"
"We do not make a generality"
Their lawyer, Me Anaïs Mehiri, notes the “particular” behavior of the regulator.
“We hope that an investigation will be opened so that he can be heard.
It is his responsibility that is targeted.
We do not generalize Samu, ”she insists.
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Contacted, the AP-HP confirms the three calls to Samu 92, in two days.
But the direction of Public Assistance - Hospitals of Paris considers that the regulators took the time "necessary to exchange with the patient and her relatives".
“During the second call, the doctor, after evaluating the patient's state of health for ten minutes and eliminating immediate vital distress, did not consider it necessary to send means to her home.
[...] However, he gave instructions [...] not to hesitate to call back in case of aggravation, ”underlines the AP-HP.
At Samu, we sweep away the hypothesis of guidelines on "sorting Covid patients"
The latter further indicates having informed the regional health agency of Ile-de-France of this death, which "gave rise to an analysis of the contributing factors as for all the treatments giving rise to a declaration of" serious adverse event ”.
For his part, François Braun, president of the Samu Urgences union, sweeps away the hypothesis of directives on "a sorting of Covid patients".
“The regulator decides alone,” he assures us.
At this stage, the Nanterre prosecutor's office, which received the family's complaint last Thursday, has not yet decided on the follow-up to be given to it.
Before the opening of a possible preliminary investigation, the complaint is currently "under study".