Emergencies: the Minister of Health admits that services have closed

Europe 1 with AFP 11:12 a.m., August 10, 2022

Several emergency services are currently closed in France, acknowledged on Wednesday François Braun, the Minister of Health, who had until then refused to discuss such a situation in a context of concerns about the ability of hospitals to cross the border. 'summer.

"In terms of closures, that is to say an emergency service that would no longer welcome anyone, there were four before July, there are eight today", declared François Braun on RTL.

Nuanced remarks

These remarks mark a change of speech of the minister who refuted any closure of emergencies, only evoking a regulated access of patients to certain emergencies, despite testimonies to this effect from health professionals.

In a survey published in early August, the Samu-Urgences France association, which François Braun himself chaired just before joining the government, reported that multiple emergency services had closed for several days in July.

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This survey is part of a context of concerns among caregivers about the ability of hospitals to get through the summer, against a backdrop of a lack of beds and staff.

If the minister finally acknowledged the existence of closures, he nevertheless put their consequences into perspective.

Among the eight establishments closed, a figure also much lower than those reported by professionals, "there are four clinics with public emergency services nearby", qualified François Braun.

"We must keep reason".

The Minister also reiterated that all plots of French territory continued to have “vital emergency” services, if necessary via mobile Samu teams.