Sadly historic first: the emergency department of the Laval hospital is forced to close four nights in the first week of November.
While the coronavirus pandemic continues to mobilize a large number of caregivers and beds, this hospital center is facing a shortage of doctors.
A situation which forces patients to be redirected to the emergency rooms of the hospitals of Mayenne and Château-Gontier.
"
When emergencies close, there are always lives in danger,
" says the head of the Laval emergency department, Caroline Brémaud.
Read alsoHospital: a deep, old and systemic crisis
According to this emergency physician, the situation is “
unprecedented, catastrophic
”.
Its department, which receives 35,000 people a year, faces a "
terrible understaffing
", where too many vacancies endanger the lives of patients.
"
There are not enough of us to properly treat all the people who arrive in the emergency room
", deplores Caroline Brémaud at
Le Figaro
.
Only people in a vital emergency can be taken care of between 6:30 p.m. and 8:30 a.m. in Laval for the next few nights.
The population is invited to call their attending physician or to "
contact 116 117 or 15 before going to the emergency room
", specifies the ARS.
Read alsoThe editorial in
Le Figaro
: "Hospital crisis: inexcusable"
For the mayor of Laval, Florian Bercault, emergencies are the visible part of the dysfunctions at the city's hospital, linked to a lack of doctors, paramedics and beds.
“
In Mayenne, before the coronavirus, there were only eight intensive care beds for 300,000 inhabitants.
The hospital system in our department has been totally abandoned for decades,
”regrets the mayor.
The sanitary reserve is insufficient
At the official request of the elected Florian Bercault, the sanitary reserve was activated.
But the reinforcements are thin.
"
Only one doctor answered the call for day guards,
"
Maxime Lebigot, deputy secretary of the union at Laval hospital
, told
Figaro
.
"This
is certainly due to the current vacation period
," said the mayor of Laval.
The latter hopes for a strong commitment from the State, after having received Prime Minister Jean Castex in his city on October 23.
"
He supported my request for heavy restructuring of our hospital,
" says Florian Bercault.
Read alsoFaced with bed closures, the public hospital at the end of its rope
For the doctor Caroline Brémaud, “
It is not only the emergency room in Laval but the entire public hospital service in France that is collapsing, with increasingly difficult emergencies in many municipalities.
“Despite recruitment prospects, an Algerian doctor is due to arrive at the emergency room in December, the head of the emergency department is pessimistic.
“
This is only the beginning of a very difficult period for the emergencies of Laval and the department.
If there is no recruitment, I fear that the emergency room will close five nights out of seven.
"
Long nights without emergency service
Emergencies in neighboring hospitals close their doors occasionally or permanently at night.
The measures are radical: no more emergency services at night at the hospital in Vitré (Ille-et-Vilaine) since this summer, temporary closure of emergencies at night in Fougères and Redon.
As a result, the emergencies of the Rennes University Hospital are experiencing a level of attendance never reached before.
Read alsoHospital: avenues for a better organization of the health system
The phenomenon is spreading to other regions.
At Bailleul hospital, the second hospital in Sarthe, emergencies will remain closed at night until November 8.
In the Puy-de-Dôme, Ambert hospital no longer opens its service, since October 27, for lack of an interim doctor.
“
This is unacceptable.
A solution must immediately be found for our inhabitants
”, tweeted Laurent Wauquiez, president of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region.
The Minister of Health Olivier Véran acknowledged on October 27 a "
complicated
"
situation
in hospitals.
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