Big fright for the parents of little Leo last week. “For several days, he had not been well. He had stopped eating, had to allow it and was vomiting. He had almost lost 1 kg”details Lara, his mother.

Thursday, November 17, direction the Lenval hospital in Nice. Mother and son arrive at 9:30 a.m. and two hours later they come out. He was prescribed “rehydration solutions to take home and we were given dietary advice”.

“He was barely reacting”

In the afternoon, the baby’s condition deteriorates. “He was barely reacting”, remembers the mother of the family. Very worried, the parents decide to go back to the hospital, it is 5:15 p.m. and they will not see a doctor until 9:30 p.m. “Thanks to my mother-in-law and one of her acquaintances, Léo was able to receive a drip to be rehydrated”she adds.

It is 3:30 a.m. Friday when the family heads home. The hours pass and the child is at its worst. The grandiose and impossible concern for parents to remain spectators in the face of such a situation.

At 4 p.m., on their own initiative, the couple took over the direction of the CHPG of Monaco. When they arrive, the child is hospitalized and aerosols will be needed to help him breathe. “Leo had his esophagus all irritated” according to the doctor. It was only after two days of hospitalization that he was able to return home. What a reduction for Lara, when told that he is “out of the worrying stage”.

25 children hospitalized

The situation is complex in pediatric emergencies because of this particularly early bronchiolitis epidemic is virulent, the peak of which should be reached in two weeks. Small patients from Lenval have already had to be transferred to other hospitals, such as those in Cannes, Antibes, Grasse and Monaco. But this is no longer possible today, because they too are now saturated.

eight days ago, Dr Philippe Babe de Lenval told Nice-Matin that the service was “in great pain”. And confessed to not having “never experienced that”. A major epidemic which unfortunately adds to the other seasonal viruses and impossible “failure of paramedics to open beds”.

“We currently have 25 children hospitalized with bronchiolitis, whispered the pediatrician. The situation got worse and we knew it.”

“We were well received, but…”

In the columns of our colleagues from France Infohe already specified on November 15 “keep only the most serious cases” and “to return patients who might be waiting to return home and, if they get worse, will return to the hospital for hospitalization”. Recalling that “It’s part of the work of emergencies to sort out”.

Dr. Babe points to a functional problem in “the system” which contributes to the saturation of the emergency department. “City pediatricians are not on call. At 5 p.m., you can’t find anyone. While in times of epidemics like this, you should be able to find pediatricians until at least 8 p.m., or even 10 p.m. hours. Only our hospital provides pediatric emergencies in the evening. Elsewhere, children are admitted to general emergencies”.

Aware of the problem she wants her story to point out, Lara is understanding: “We were well received at Lenval, but it is clear that the emergency rooms are no longer able to receive and treat children properly. And that’s scary, laments the mother of the family. In Nice as in Monaco, the nurses are apprehensive about the weeks to come and that touched me. Just like all those people who were waiting with their children in the waiting rooms.”