Stretchers and protected medical staff from head to toe busy in a station forbidden to access ... Twenty coronavirus patients in intensive care left Thursday, March 26, Strasbourg, in eastern France, aboard a TGV medicalized for the west of the country. An unprecedented operation to relieve Alsatian hospitals caught in the throat by the epidemic.

The train left as planned around 11 a.m., heading west, where the hospitals of Angers, Le Mans, Nantes and La Roche-sur-Yon will take care of these seriously ill patients.

"Unpublished in Europe"

With 506 deaths recorded in health establishments in Grand Est, out of the 1,331 counted in French hospitals, this region remains one of the black spots of the epidemic in France.

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Long parade of ambulances with flashing lights flashing under the canopy of the station, masked staff in white coats, blue overcoats or yellow vests working on the platform where the TGV Duplex medicalized stationed since Wednesday evening ... The atmosphere in this station deserted by travelers, was both feverish and concentrated for this evacuation qualified at the beginning of the week as "unprecedented in Europe" by the Minister of Health, Olivier Véran.

The first patients had been hoisted at 8:30 a.m. on the TGV on stretchers carried at arm's length. They were to be installed in five cars, at a rate of four per lower room, those at the top being devoted to the circulation of materials and nursing staff, according to details communicated by the Directorate General of Health (DGS).

Fifty caregivers and logisticians

A medical team consisting of an anesthesiologist-resuscitator, an intern, a nurse anesthetist and three nurses is present in each car.

These caregivers are from CHU Nantes and Angers as well as AP-HP Paris, while the Samu de Paris coordinates the maneuver. About 50 caregivers and logisticians participate in the trip.

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Additional precaution: a classic train has been coupled to the medical train to deal with possible hazards, such as a collision with game.

"The Grand Est region is at the peak of its wave, which we will probably all know in our regions in the coming weeks, explains Lionel Lamhaut, emergency doctor responsible for the mission. The idea is precisely to play on the shift of regions to take patients from regions that are in the midst of an epidemic peak, transport them to quieter regions now and that after this game of rotation can take place throughout the national or even European territory if necessary. "

In order to relieve hospitals in the Grand Est, several patient evacuation operations were previously carried out by an Air Force Airbus to other healthcare establishments in France, a first as well. Evacuations have also been organized by helicopter to less sought-after French hospitals.

And since last weekend, border countries have also come to the rescue of the Great East, welcoming several patients. Forty resuscitation beds have been made available to Alsatian patients but also to Lorraine by Germany, Switzerland and Luxembourg.

With AFP

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