Pediatric emergencies at Toulouse University Hospital. “40 to 45% of consultations do not reflect the urgency”
By Lucie Fraisse
Published on
Too much people. This Monday, September 26, 2022, patients were filtered at the reception of pediatric emergencies at Toulouse University Hospital. In the process, the establishment published a press release on its social networks calling on patients to exercise good judgment before going to the emergency room in order to avoid overloading the structure.
Epidemic, traumatology, etc.
“There are several causes for this congestion, believes the Professor Isabelle Claudet, head of pediatric emergencies at the Toulouse University Hospital. The return to school has favored the circulation of viruses, there are parents who worry when their child has a cold and a fever. We don’t really have bronchiolitis yet, but quite a few laryngitis which often impress parents. And we still have a lot of traumatology because the weather continues to be beautiful. »
Compensate for the closures of other emergency services
Added to this are patients redirected by pediatric emergency services on the outskirts of Toulouse or in other departments, which are also overwhelmed.
“The pediatric emergencies of the CHU of Toulouse, it is the last place where there is the light on, estimates Professor Claudet. When the other emergency services filter, the parents come to us. Corn we cannot accommodate all pediatrics. »
40 to 45% of passages did not change the urgency
Especially since according to the estimates of the head of department, currently 40 to 45% of visits to pediatric emergencies could be supported by city medicine. “Be careful, I know that city medicine is facing its own problems: there is a lack of general practitioners and pediatricians and we should not hope for improvement for several years. But emergencies cannot absorb all requests. »
Since January 2022, the number of visits to pediatric emergencies in Toulouse has increased by 14%. “We are even at +37% compared to 2019, the year before the Covid epidemic, insists Isabelle Claudet. It’s huge: normally, in an emergency department, attendance increases by 2 to 4% per year. »
Recruitment to face winter
Recruitment has already been anticipated with the approach of winter for all departments of the Purpan children’s hospital. “The anticipation of the winter plan is perfect, underlines Professor Claudet. This was not necessarily the case last year.”
Overall, 44 full-time nursing equivalents have been filled, as well as 30 nursing assistant and childcare assistant positions.
“But there are at least six emergency doctors missing, regrets Isabelle Claudet. We have been asking for them for more than six years.”
The hope of creating a medical center
While the winter period and its panoply of viruses of all kinds are just beginning, the fear of being forced to filter entries, as was decided on Monday, is very real. For Professor Claudet, the solution to deal with the increase in attendance at pediatric emergencies could involve the creation of a medical centre, attached to the service, “with several doctors, open late at night and on weekends. Without it it will not be bearable.”
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