The health situation is not improving in France, especially in the Bouches-du-Rhône region. Bars and restaurants have been closed since Monday, September 28, for a period of 15 days. In a column published by department heads of the AP-HM (Assistance-Publique – Hospitals of Marseille), the doctors evoke a worrying local health situation.
What is the message of the doctors?
The number of people sick with Covid-19 requiring intensive care continues to increase slowly, in the care establishments located in Marseille. The 19 heads of services (resuscitation, emergencies, anesthesia) and heads of COVID units highlight the difficulties encountered in the field. Since August, they have been facing an influx “slow but continuous”Hospitalizations and intensive care admissions of Covid-19 patients, including a third of seriously ill, aged 40 to 65 years. The CHU (University Hospital Center) wants to offer patients care in a serene setting. They add that the “bed occupancy curve has been rising for more than 5 weeks”. Their message is clear: “healthcare teams do not want to have to choose which patient will or will not go to intensive care. ”
Marseille hospitals are starting to saturate
Hospitals have made improvements to take care of Covid-19 patients. In the Infectious Diseases pole of the APHM, at the IUH, the teams welcome 180 patients, while the initial capacity is 75 beds. The problem is, this is at the expense of people with other serious illnesses. In addition, in the other establishments, “more than 40% of APHM resuscitation beds are occupied by COVID patients”. Therefore, this is detrimental to “patients with other serious conditions such as multiple trauma, cancer or transplants”Who see their surgeries postponed or even canceled. Despite a palpable tension and general exhaustion, the nursing staff and the doctors of the various care centers act in total cohesion and coordination.
What are the doctors asking for?
Hospitals are struggling to hire professionals from the medical and paramedical sector to strengthen their teams. For them, stemming the epidemic is a priority: “It is therefore imperative that the flow of COVID hospitalizations in the department slow down very quickly so that we can provide quality care to all patients”. Aware of “terrible consequences”Of the health crisis, the forum seeks to anticipate as much as possible, so that in the near future, caregivers are not forced to make choices.
