The symbolic measure resembles a last stand. 30 mayors have resigned their functions to speak out against the possible closure of emergency room night at the Clamecy hospital in Nièvre (Bourgogne Franceh-Comté) and other establishments in the region. The 2018-2022 regional health project threatens the sustainability of the emergency services of several hospitals in Nièvre. If the conclusions are expected this summer, the mayors quickly denounced the great difficulties ofHealth care accessin the event of effective closure. In the event of a serious incident at night, a 45-minute drive to 1 hour 30 minutes by car would be necessary to reach the Auxerre or Nevers hospital, worry the city councilors and the population, according to France 3 Bourgogne-Franche-Comté.
A series of collective actions
The mayors and the inhabitants have therefore decided to mobilize to challenge the public authorities.
This Thursday, February 22, they are therefore thirty mayors to have sent their resignation to the prefect “in acknowledgment of receipt”, reports France 3.
In the evening, a rally is planned in front of the emergency department. The elected officials who have resigned will ask to be treated for “post-traumatic syndrome linked to the closing of emergencies at night”.
On Friday, residents will join this protest by parading in the streets of Clamecy, while a representative of the ARS (Regional Health Agency) is expected that day. Municipal officials will lay their tricolor scarves in the courtyard of the hospital at the foot of a Marianne draped in black, according to the regional channel.
The municipal tour de force should not stop there. The mayors are ready to give their voice on Thursday, March 1, the day of the States General of Health in Nevers, where the Minister of Health Agnès Buzyn will assist.
The movement against emergency closures could spread if the conclusions of the report by Dr Jean-Yves Grall, director general of the ARS of Nord-Pas-de-Calais, are respected. Handed over to the Minister of Health in August 2015, the document recommends the closure of 67 emergency departments out of 650 in France to transform them into “unscheduled care centers”.
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