Joseph Ducuing hospital has closed its internal medicine department, “it’s dramatic” says a patient
In the midst of a pandemic, the internal medicine department of the Joseph Ducuing hospital temporarily closed its doors on December 17 after several departures of doctors. Many patients are worried.
In the middle of the fifth Covid wave, it is a closure that falls badly. The internal medicine department of the Joseph Ducuing hospital in Toulouse has stopped functioning since December 17 following the departure of several of its doctors.
With 36 beds, managed by four internists, three internists and four specialist doctors (two diabetologists, an oncologist, an addictologist), this internal medicine service was nationally renowned for the quality of its work and its versatility, all in the sector. 1, that is to say without exceeding fees.
Today, hundreds of patients urgently need to find a new hospital for follow-up. Which is causing a lot of concern.
I have been a patient in this internal medicine department since 2008 because I have an autoimmune disease. I have to be followed every 6 weeks. At Joseph Ducuing, the doctors had known me for years, a relationship of trust had established itself. Which is very important when you suffer from chronic pathologies. There, I had to find an emergency hospital. This closure is dramatic!
Laurent Picard, ex-patient in internal medicine at Joseph Ducuing hospital
This closure is the consequence of the successive departures of four doctors since the summer of 2021: the former head of department, two other internists and an oncologist.
The first of them to leave the scene is Doctor Francis Gaches, who had been working since 1996 in this private non-profit hospital, created in 1944 by Spanish Republican resistance fighters.
I am an activist in human, humanitarian and social medicine. I was part of the history of this hospital. But I suffered an aggressive management of the direction following denunciations made within the framework of my function of president of the medical commission of establishment.
Francis Gaches, former head of internal medicine at Joseph Ducuing hospital
Since the arrival of a new management in 2018, difficulties have accumulated at Joseph Ducuing Hospital.
Emergency crisis which led to the resignation of nine emergency physicians, dismissal of the head of the pharmacy, conviction of an emergency physician for acts of sexual assault on patients, Dr. Francis Gaches who denounced these facts, had no ceases to come into conflict with its direction.
Very affected by all these tensions, he was finally dismissed for incapacity last September.
Management has multiplied the errors. As president of the establishment medical commission, I was the guarantor of the quality and safety of care, I denounced serious facts, I did what I had to do.
Francis Gaches, former head of internal medicine at Joseph Ducuing hospital
Following his departure, three other medical colleagues resigned, which caused the closure of the service. For these resigners, the humanist spirit of this hospital was no longer there.
It must be said that this service was recognized by all for the quality of its care and for its social medicine.
For 25 years, Doctor Françis Gaches, head of this service, a renowned internist, offered very high quality care to patients suffering from complex and varied pathologies and often in social distress, such as the homeless or drug addicts.
This team of doctors showed such humanity in the treatment of these serious pathologies. She was also very supportive of my family when I was at my worst. We will not find such a follow-up.
Laurent Picard, ex-patient at Joseph-Ducuing hospital
The management of Joseph Ducuing Hospital told our colleagues from Médiapart that this closure is temporary. Recruitments must be underway to rebuild this internal medicine service in order to ensure, as quickly as possible, a supply of care to users.
“The internal medicine service remains and will remain a central specialty of this hospital”, always according to management.
While waiting for this temporary closure arouses a lot of reactions. A petition has been in circulation for two days. It has already brought back just over 1,300 signatures.