Strasbourg (AFP)

The urgencies of the Emile Muller hospital in Mulhouse (Haut-Rhin) are desperately seeking new doctors after many departures that undermine the operation of the service, or even its survival, despite the plan for "refounding" emergencies announced by the health Minister.

"At the beginning of October, we will have 7.3 full-time equivalent of emergency doctors.To this summer, the emergency services of Mulhouse were working with 24 emergency doctors," AFP told AFP the direction of the Regional Hospital Group Mulhouse Sud- Alsace (GHRMSA).

"The situation is dramatic," summarizes Fabrice Jaugey, Secretary General FO, saying it would take 34 emergency personnel "to operate the service optimally".

The promise by Health Minister Agnès Buzyn to release "more than 750 million euros" for emergencies by 2022 will not change anything, according to him. "It's making fun of the world," says the unionist.

"It's a cataclysm and we do not know where we're going," said Mauricette Kieffer, emergency receptionist and non-medical spokesperson.

"There has been a haemorrhage: doctors are leaving, little by little the working conditions for the remaining doctors are degrading and young doctors do not see themselves continuing to work like that for years," analyzes Fabrice Jaugey.

According to the management, in addition to this "increase in activity", with patients "whose condition does not justify the use of emergencies", "a worrying increase in violence" and "premises that do not are more suitable "even if they are in the process of renovation.

Bruno Fuchs, MP (Modem) of Haut-Rhin, had alerted the Ministry of Health before the summer, but, according to him, "the minister reacted a little late and the ARS (Regional Agency of Health) manages that of way too administrative ".

In October, "if they can not find individual contractors, they can not operate 24/24", warns the elected, according to which "there is a real risk" of closure of emergencies. "We must act within 15 days" if we want to resolve this situation "extremely serious," he insists.

- Appeal to the health reserve -

Like 250 emergency services in France, emergencies in Mulhouse have been on strike for months, which are reported by banners and occasional rallies outside, such as Tuesday noon, the staff, bags on their heads, holding placards "asphyxiated emergencies".

The starting point of the strike was to "denounce the working conditions, the care of the patients who is no longer safe, the lack of downstream beds, the unsuitable premises, the lack of staff", recalls Mauricette Kieffer. But four months and 18 hires of non-doctors later, the issue of the flight of doctors took over.

"We have to find doctors and we do not know where to look for them, we go blind, day by day, doctors come to help us, doctors on the floors, traumatologists, doctors in the army. , temporary workers, general practitioners, but we need emergency doctors and a head of department ", a position currently held by an interim, says Ms. Kieffer.

"We want to cry every day," adds the receptionist, evoking a "welded" staff who "fights to save (his) service".

For the first time, four doctors from the health reserve came to help, an exceptional measure normally implemented during health crises.

Beyond the minister's medium-term plan, the hospital group's management considers it should "deploy short-term actions to get out of the crisis". It multiplies the advertisements to attract the doctors and tries to unburden the emergencies by a better orientation of the patients.

Also part of GHRMSA, the smaller Altkirch emergencies were closed "temporarily and exceptionally" last Saturday late afternoon to Monday morning, for lack of doctors.

"We are doing everything we can to make emergency operations work wherever they are," says the management. But in Mulhouse, this first punctual closure sounds like a warning signal.

© 2019 AFP