In Toulouse, clinics and hospitals are preparing to experience the most difficult 15 days of the summer
Closures of beds and services, lack of staff, professional leave: the health establishments of Haute-Garonne are preparing to experience the most difficult period of the year. More than ever, emergencies are on the front line.
The difficult summer for hospitals and clinics had begun in June. But it is the current period, which runs until August 22, which promises to be the most tense. The traditional closure of beds to allow doctors and caregivers to take leave is accompanied again this year by additional closures due to a lack of staff that establishments are unable to recruit.
For the CHU (University Hospital Center) of Toulouse alone, “between 380 and 470 beds will be closed for the first half of August, i.e. a closure rate of 21% for the entire structure”, relates Christophe Mazin, secretary General of the Toulouse University Hospital where the crisis and coordination cells constantly seek to streamline the emergencies where, inevitably, everything converges. “When we manage to facilitate outings, the beds are transmitted again very quickly. We must continue this effort, in order to free up space for the most precarious patients,” continues Christophe Mazin.
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Several emergency services and a maternity ward closed
For the first time, the emergency services will keep their doors closed for several days and/or nights, such as at the Croix du Sud clinic in Quint-Fonsegrives or at the Joseph-Ducuing hospital in Toulouse. The Occitanie maternity clinic, in Muret, suspends its activity until September 5. The Marchant hospital closed 14 post-emergency psychiatric beds, which led to the implementation of regulation by the Samu 31 and the care of patients at the Clinique des Cèdres. “Very recently, this allowed us to avoid about fifteen hospitalizations in the emergency room, which is not negligible, especially when the majority of these hospitalizations are under duress”, explains Christophe Mazin.
Everywhere, emergencies see red. “It’s tense because we have a lot of difficulty finding hospital beds, especially in geriatrics and follow-up care. Our short-term units are permanently full, ”says Dr Béatrice Riu-Poulenc, head of the multipurpose intensive care unit at Purpan.
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Pediatric emergency room activity increased by 30% in July
Pediatrics is also one of the sectors very impacted. “Compared to last year, activity in the month of July in pediatric emergencies increased by 30%,” says Pr Isabelle Claudet, head of pediatric emergencies at the Hôpital des children (Toulouse University Hospital). “There is a lack of pediatricians in town and in peripheral hospitals where I had never seen services closed for so long and in such large numbers. But we can’t absorb everything, the Children’s Hospital should not be the fire department for the whole region. Some care can wait, without going through the emergency room, the population must be aware of this because our health system is exploding, ”warns the pediatrician.
The ARS appeals to retired doctors
Can retired doctors relieve private practice this summer? This is one of the levers that the Occitanie Regional Health Agency is trying to activate, which has launched an appeal to volunteer retired doctors to provide replacements this month of August, particularly in general medicine. “Doctors have not gone on vacation more than in other years, but the pressure on emergencies is greater. We have worked with the Council of the Order of Physicians and the Regional Union of Health Professionals to centralize requests and facilitate the employment of these retired doctors, particularly from the point of view of contributions and taxes,” explains Benoît Ricaud. -Larose, deputy director of the first resort at ARSOccitanie. About twenty applications were registered in the region, including 5 for Haute-Garonne.