Hospital emergencies: “unprecedented” tension bordering on “endangering the health of the French”

The situation of emergency services and Smurs “continued to deteriorate” during the summer of 2023 to reach “unprecedented” tension, deplores the Samu-Urgences de France (SUdF) union in a report published on Wednesday. .

“The system gives the illusion of having held up,” the union said in a press release. “But the conditions of reception and care are profoundly altered. Working conditions have become unbearable and inhumane for our exhausted professionals. Health security is sometimes no longer guaranteed, including for vital emergencies”.

SUdF itself carried out a survey of mobile emergency and resuscitation services (Smur) and emergencies on the working conditions observed in July and August. Of “more than half” of the 680 emergency structures in France, 163 emergency services closed at least once during the two summer months due to lack of staff, 153 services reduced the number of doctors capable of caring for the sick, a probable effect of the Rist law capping the remuneration of temporary emergency physicians.

“It touches the vital emergency”

Regarding the 15 Samu-Centres, three-quarters of them say they needed reinforcements from medical regulation istants (ARM), but a third could not find any, while 166 Smur, out of 450, closed at least one unit over the period. “It affects the vital emergency, so there is a danger to the health of the French”, is alarmed, on RMC, this Wednesday morning Marc Noizet, president of the union and head of emergencies in Mulhouse (Haut-Rhin) .

Last year, according to him, a few services “here and there” were concerned. This summer, despite preventive measures, all departments were affected. “Our system is truly collapsing, we are no longer able to guarantee patients the national plan to have an emergency service 30 minutes from their home,” he said, adding that “this slow degradation” is working towards the ever-increasing exhaustion of doctors, nurses and caregivers.

“We expect strong commitments”

President Emmanuel Macron has pledged to unclog emergency rooms before the end of 2024. If, in the coming months, the “problem of the demographics of caregivers” will not improve, according to Marc Noizet, “there are measures which do not require money, only organization”, ures- he. Because “the first difficulty for an emergency physician is to find beds for his patients”, he insists, “keep vital emergencies throughout the territory”, “we expect strong commitments” .