"I first came to the Strasbourg University Hospitals to support staff faced with the fifth wave, which is here in Alsace, as on the national territory, extremely strong", declared the Prime Minister at the end of his visit. .
"I spoke with the staff of course of the difficulties they encounter at a time when hospitals are also extremely stressed by all the other pathologies, either due to the season, or which had been delayed by the previous waves", he added.
Mr. Castex announced that within the framework of the Ségur de la Santé, the State would take back 40% of the debt of the establishment, or 190 million euros, and "exceptional aid of 20 million euros" will be paid to him "to give him some leeway".
The other Alsatian hospitals of Mulhouse, "of which everyone knows the heavy toll it has borne from the first wave of Covid" (57 million euros), and Colmar (11 million euros) will also benefit from aid " to get out of debt and therefore be able to resume investment, "said the head of government.
Many nursing homes will also be subsidized, he continued.
Before his visit, several hundred nursing staff from Strasbourg University Hospitals (HUS) observed a minute of silence to denounce their working conditions.
Shortly after 2:00 p.m., gathered in front of the entrance to the New Civil Hospital, the caregivers, by the hundreds, stopped talking, their faces closed, for a minute.
"The purpose of this moment of contemplation is to inform the population that the public hospital is dying," Dr Sébastien Harscoat, doctor in the emergency room and at the Strasbourg Samu, had explained beforehand to the microphone.
"We want to continue to treat our patients despite exhaustion, despite the closure of beds, budgetary restrictions (...). But we are no longer able to do so," he added.
Demonstration of medical personnel at the Nouvel Hopital Civil "(NHC) in Strasbourg, December 10, 2021 PATRICK HERTZOG AFP
The "Ségur de la santé", negotiated with forceps after the first confinement, provides for a massive injection of public funds: 10 billion euros in sustainable wage increases and 19 billion in investments spread over several years, an envelope which is in progress. being declined by region.
In the Grand Est region, almost two billion euros will be distributed among healthcare establishments, including more than 800 million euros to restore the financial situation of hospitals.
© 2021 AFP