The Minister of Health, Olivier Véran, on February 18, 2020, in Paris. - Christophe Ena / AP / SIPA

  • Since February 1, the government has set up a toll-free number to answer questions about the coronavirus.
  • Its opening hours, from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., would have been dictated by budget cuts, according to a viral Facebook post.
  • A claim denied to 20 Minutes by the Ministry of Health, which indicates to have widened the time slot in view of the number of calls received.

While concern is growing in France about the risk of development of coronavirus cases, especially after the death of a first French patient, critics of government management on this subject are also multiply. In particular within the medical profession, about the toll-free number open seven days a week to answer questions - outside medical advice - on the coronavirus.

"Flood of calls to Samu for simple information on the coronavirus because the toll-free number set up by the Ministry of Health is only open from 9 am to 7 pm", denounced this Monday, on Facebook, Christophe Prudhomme, emergency doctor to Samu 93 and spokesperson for the Association of Emergency Physicians of France (Amuf). He added: "This is a measure taken by Agnès Buzyn before her departure for reasons of economy and the new minister has taken no measures to correct this abnormal situation. "

Consequence of this "scandal", according to him? "All the work falls to the hospital and in particular to the Samu who are already on the verge of rupture to ensure daily life".

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Contacted by 20 Minutes , Christophe Prudhomme tells us a little more about the type of calls handled by the emergency service in recent days: “Monday [February 24], I was on call at Samu and there are there was an explosion of calls after 7 p.m., particularly from parents worried about the care of their children because of the instructions given to pupils returning from Lombardy. Samu is not an information center! "

“The fact that the toll-free number is only open from 9 am to 7 pm is clearly a savings measure, it is common sense: the longer the call center is open - for example until midnight - the more expensive it is. It is a continuation of government policy, which exhausts the public hospital to the bone, ”he continues.

Joined by 20 Minutes , the Ministry of Health "firmly denies" an opening to these time slots "for economic reasons": "The toll-free number on the coronavirus implemented on February 1 worked at the usual time slots for this type of platform , 9 am-7pm. These were the same times at the time of the heat wave in the summer [2018], for example. "

Expanded hours

The ministry also points out that it recently extended the opening hours of the platform - which had received a total of 7,429 calls until midday on Wednesday February 26: "Due to the large number of calls, the beach hours have been extended from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. since [Tuesday, February 25]. The schedules have not yet been updated on all the ministry's websites, but we are doing our best now that the crisis is intensifying. "

Is this schedule change already effective? During a first call made to the toll-free number by 20 Minutes , this Wednesday at the start of the afternoon, the operator told us, after verification, that "the hours were from 9 am to 7 pm on her set", while indicating that these could vary from one plateau to another. Another operator contacted after 5 p.m. on the same day told us that the number was open from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. "The platforms do not necessarily have the same hours but the responses on the coronavirus are given from 8 to 21 hours," says the Ministry of Health.

Contacted by 20 Minutes , Sitel, the provider of the Ministry of Health in charge of the toll-free number, told us that they were unable to answer our questions, the Ministry of Health being the only authority on this subject.

If Christophe Prudhomme indicated for his part not to have heard of this change of schedule, Wednesday, February 26, the new slots chosen only confirm, in his eyes, a budgetary reason: "The fact that the platform closes at 9 pm illustrates this demonstration even more since after this hour, one enters, legally, into night work, which involves particular compensations ”.

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  • Fake Off
  • Samu
  • France
  • Ministry of Health
  • epidemic
  • Health
  • coronavirus