From March 1, coming after 7 p.m. to the emergency room of the Pierre-Dezarnaulds hospital in Gien will be useless. For lack of personnel, today only an emergency doctor accompanied by a nurse is still present, at night, in the service, the decision to no longer receive new patients between 7 p.m. and 8 a.m. has been recorded.
Support for people who arrived before 7 p.m. will continue, however, even beyond the closing time of the reception.
The SMUR always present
This decision, “which is not taken lightly”, explains Gilles Delaporte, president of the medical commission for the establishment of Gien, now redirects the population to 15 (SAMU). “This is a firm suggestion from the minister”, describes Gilles Varin, the acting director of the Gien hospital. Once seized, the referent doctor of the SAMU will indicate to the patient, the hospital center closest that he will have to join.
“The SMUR will also continue to intervene if necessary, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It must be protected”, announces Francis Cammal, Mayor of Gien.
For people who have physically gone to the hospital, a hospital medical center has also been set up since Monday, February 27, every day between 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. “This is the same system that we put in place in Orléans last June”, describes Jean-Robert Chevallier, deputy director of the CHR of the Loiret prefecture.
Orléans Hospital innovates and offers assisted teleconsultation to patients turned away from the emergency room
This principle makes it possible to welcome people, turned away from the hospital, in order to carry out a teleconsultation. It is a liberal nurse from Orleans, who was dispatched to provide this service.
Nine vacant nursing positions
Worn out, exhausted by “the lack of human resources” according to Yann Lefèvre, emergency doctor, the night emergencies had no other choice but to resolve to close. Everyone hopes it will be temporary. “We aim to reopen in September, because that’s where people coming out of training could join the nursing staff” explains the mayor of Gien, very involved in this subject.
The Pierre-Dezarnaulds hospital center team estimates the number of vacant nursing positions at nine. “To work properly at night, we would need an emergency doctor, three nurses and a caregiver. Today, there is only one emergency doctor left,” says emergency doctor Séverin Dumont. “The teams in place are working a lot of overtime to hold on. We are almost 48 hours away,” adds Doctor Lemée, head of the Gien emergency department.
Travelers and people from the Cher Nord left behind?
For this same reason, Yann Lefèvre confides that it is almost impossible to take on more people: “We are already obliged to choose, in our emergency department, the people to be treated as a priority. We have an average of 77 patients per day. ” Thus, it is likely that the Travelers, who arrived in Gien for the Bible school and representing approximately 80 additional, potential patients, will not be taken care of. A preparatory meeting, scheduled for Tuesday morning in the presence of the ARS, should finalize these terms.
Gien hospital emergencies could close at night, from March to September 2023
The same goes for patients in Cher Nord and the Aubigny sector, who also risk being left behind. The tension was thus palpable about them. “We will try to make an effort, but this cannot be our top priority”, such was the message delivered by the emergency doctors and the director Gilles Varin.
At the dawn of the closing of the emergencies of Gien, at night, it is therefore in a very dark tunnel in which the Pierre Dezarnaulds hospital is engaged. It will be difficult to see the end of it.
Thomas Bogeard
