Around twenty hospitals have launched this system to put in place exceptional measures to deal with the flu epidemic.
- Around twenty hospitals have launched the white plan in the face of the flu.
- It allows them to take exceptional measures to deal with the influx of patients.
- To protect against the virus, vaccination is recommended.
The flu epidemic is spreading in France and hospitals are organizing themselves. According to a count carried out by theAgence France Pressearound twenty establishments have triggered the white plan: Vannes, Ploërmel, Aubenas, Toulon, Cholet, etc. This makes it possible to put in place exceptional measures to deal with the influx of patients: deprogramming of operations, recall of staff, etc. For the moment, the Ministry of Health says it cannot estimate the number of hospitals that have used this system.
Flu: what is the situation in France?
In his last newsletter, Public health France confirms a “sharp increase in all flu indicators in town and in hospital in all age groups”. All metropolitan regions are in an epidemic situation. Martinique in epidemic, Guadeloupe and Guyana are classified as pre-epidemic. “Children under 15 were most affected in town and in hospital, and there was a sharp increase in hospitalizations among people aged 65 and over.indicates the organization.
White plan: hospitals overwhelmed by the influx of flu patients
In hospitals, this increase in cases is felt by caregivers. “We have the feeling that it is stronger than usual”, noted the spokesperson for the Samu-Urgences de France (SUDF) union, Agnès Ricard-Hibon at West France. “The majority problem is the lack of hospital beds, as alwaysshe believes. (…) We must reserve a number of beds in the departments for emergency activity.”
For his part, Mathias Wargon, head of the emergency department at the Delafontaine hospital center in Saint-Denis, deplores a lack of organization in certain departments. “When I hear that there are patients who wait 10 hours, 12 hours, 15 hours before being seen, it is because there is an organizational problem, there is perhaps a problem of staff but in these cases, we go up and yell at management to get staff, does he advance on the board BFMTV. We can’t expand emergency services like that, so we have to get organized.”
For the Minister of Health, Yannick Neuder, this multiplication of white shots “reflects well the state of tension in which our health system finds itself”, he declared to France Info during a trip to Rennes. “One of my priorities will be to promote everything that can produce care in the region”For “avoid systematic recourse to emergencies”, says the new minister.
How to protect yourself from the flu epidemic?
As for patients, especially those most at risk, health professionals call on them to protect themselves against the disease. “Currently, most patients with severe forms are not vaccinated.notes Laurent Ducros, head of the intensive care unit at Sainte-Musse hospital in Toulon, in a report from TF1. Vaccination is recommended for people over 65, pregnant women, people with chronic illnesses or those who are obese with a body mass index greater than or equal to 40. “The virus is more dangerous for them because it can cause serious complications.”alert him Ministry of Health.
