- In Alsace, hit hard by the epidemic of coronavirus, the Haut-Rhin hospitals are already at their maximum capacity, according to Jean-François Cerfon, head of medical resuscitation in Colmar.
- Strasbourg is preparing, the caregivers are mobilizing to welcome patients as well as possible, says Christian Prudhomme, nurse anesthetist and FO union representative.
- With a single objective, try to stem the coming shock, and a single watchword for the population, containment.
The coronavirus epidemic continues to hit the Great East, and in particular Alsace. The region is part of one of the two epidemic centers with the Oise, because of an evangelical gathering in March.
Sunday, more than 400 people were hospitalized in serious condition in the Grand Est, 100 more than the day before, when the announcement of the transition to stage 3, by Prime Minister Edouard Philippe.
Recovery of affected patients longer than expected
The situation already considered "very worrying" in the Haut-Rhin, hard hit by the shortage of doctors, does not seem to be improving. At the center of the concerns of the practitioners we interviewed, the recovery time for patients with coronavirus, much longer than expected. "People who are in acute respiratory distress need artificial ventilation for a dozen days, it's enormous," explains Jean-François Cerfon, head of medical resuscitation at Colmar, to 20 Minutes .
For comparison, "for a seasonal flu, we are on a few days maximum," said the practitioner. One of his counterparts, head of surgical resuscitation at the hospital [there are three resuscitation departments at Colmar hospital] was hospitalized after being tested positive for the virus. "He is in a very serious condition but he did not die, contrary to the rumors that we have read on social networks," he said. "The problem is that it takes almost two weeks to get a patient out of business with ventilation, it is a respirator that cannot be used for other patients," says Jean-François Cerfon. According to him, the Colmar site is already at its maximum capacity. “We expect a significant increase in patients in the coming days, whether in Colmar or Mulhouse… How are we going to do it? Asks the specialist.
"Every day, the sick arrive but don't leave, it's tense"
"I have been a doctor for 40 years and I had never seen that," says Jean-François Cerfon. In Strasbourg, the situation is not yet at the Haut-Rhin stadium, but hospital staff are preparing for the worst. "Every day, the patients arrive but do not leave, it's tense," says Christian Prudhomme, nurse anesthetist and FO union representative. "It has been seven years since I exercised because of my union functions, I made myself available to help my colleagues," he says.
"The shock wave, we are already feeling it because we have seen the number of cases multiply over the past week," testifies anonymously a nurse from the civilian hospital in Strasbourg. But it is true that we have not yet reached the peak of the epidemic ”. "In the Haut-Rhin, we are ahead of the Bas-Rhin, they are out of step, the peak will arrive in the coming days", warns Doctor François Cerfon.
Faced with the scale of the epidemic, he reminded us of the need to confine ourselves. "You have to tell people to stay at home, not just the elderly." "It is not just an old man's disease, we have 15% of very serious cases which concern the 30-60 age group", abounds Christian Prudhomme. In the meantime, the Strasbourg hospital is organizing itself to receive patients as well as possible. "The caregivers are already very tired but offer staff to learn resuscitation gestures, there is great cohesion within the teams," observes Christian Prudhomme. With a single objective, try to stem the coming shock, and a single watchword for the population, containment.
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- Coronavirus
- Covid 19
- Hospital
- Strasbourg
- Doctor