Report
France: in Thionville, the emergencies cracked
A nurse in the emergency room of Chartres hospital, in Le Coudray, on December 1, 2022 (illustrative image).
AFP - JULIEN DE ROSA
Text by: RFI Follow
2 mins
The triple epidemic of Covid, flu and bronchiolitis is hurting French hospitals, which were already facing major staffing difficulties.
The situation is even very critical at the Thionville hospital center, in the east of the country.
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With our correspondent in Thionville,
Simon Rozé
In Thionville, the emergencies cracked.
Fifty-four of the 59 carers, doctors and nurses are
on sick leave for burnout
.
Usually, a hundred patients pass through the doors every day.
This Wednesday, almost no one: only the most serious cases are accepted, for lack of personnel: “
The last days that I did, I came out of there in tears, the ball in my stomach to come back the next day.
I even cried in front of some patients.
»
Chloé is an emergency nurse at the Bel Air hospital in Thionville, she is one of the caregivers on sick leave.
"
We've been ringing the alarm bells for years,
" she says.
It's getting complicated, there's a lack of staff, that's nothing new.
Premises that are not suitable are not new either, and everything has accumulated.
The situation was getting worse, with bigger and bigger trays to manage.
The doctors saw that we were tired and they stopped us for burnout.
»
“
There is a day when it blows up
”
The management of the hospital announced the hiring of twelve people, "
too few, too late
", for Cyril Louis, caregiver and Sud Santé union representative, especially since he considers the situation critical throughout the hospital.
'establishment.
“
There is a lack of nurses and caregivers in almost all of the service.
Caregivers, by nature we want, we sacrifice ourselves, we devote ourselves, but by dint of pulling on the rope, there comes a day when it breaks.
And there, for once, it farted.
»
As for sick leave, the first must end at the end of the week.
Chloé wants to go back to work, but she doesn't feel capable of it yet.
► To read also: Hospital crisis in France: "working conditions are catastrophic"
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