After years spent saving lives in the shadows, here he is in the spotlight in the midst of the Covid-19 epidemic. Michel Vuillet is a young retiree, after a career as an anesthetist in a private clinic in Toulon.
No sooner had he set foot on the tarmac after a flight from Marseille to Paris in a military plane chartered for the occasion than the news channels, in search of images and “good feelings”, flocked to welcome him. and his colleagues. But why seek out retired doctors when some private sector personnel are on technical unemployment? What is the real situation in intensive care units? Doctor Vuillet provides his answers.
How did you find yourself in an intensive care unit in the Paris region in the midst of the Covid-19 crisis?
The transition to retirement has nevertheless developed a certain feeling of uselessness. After a major professional commitment, I missed contact with patients. When this Covid disease emerged, it was obvious to participate to help. I registered on the civilian reserve and, despite doubts as to whether I was still going to perform well, the fear of abandoning my loved ones, worrying them, risking contaminating them, a certain sense of duty was stronger than all. And then, one day, at 3 p.m., I received a call from the regional health agency telling me that I had to leave the same evening. There inevitably, a huge adrenaline rush is felt, we say goodbye to our family, we take a Marseille/Paris flight in a plane chartered by the army with this feeling of going on a mission. The next day we wake up in a hotel in the Parisian suburbs and there, what was only media, not very concrete finally, becomes real. Resuscitation, ventilated patients, stress in the face of the worsening state of health of certain patients, the disease which continues to progress and of which we know so little…
We notice today that non-essential surgical acts are postponed and that people consult their doctors less and less. That we attack Covid yes, but to the detriment of other pathologies, do you find this normal?
Unfortunately, we are falling behind on all the rest of the treatments. Covid has taken precedence over all other diseases, that’s obvious. Admittedly, there is a life-threatening risk through this pandemic, but medicine must continue. It is important that other pathologies are not put aside because, where I currently work, I see the problems that Covid induces every day. People who used to come for appendicitis now come with peritonitis because, unfortunately, they waited too long before going to the hospital. Yesterday a lady came in with a strangulated hernia. Normally, the hernia is treated by reducing it but there it was perforated, fistulized… These are things that we no longer saw. This is why it is essential to invite the population to continue to go to their attending physician.
Don’t you think that the private clinics currently shut down or still dormant will suffer from this even temporary cessation of activity?
Private clinics are indeed much more economically dependent and are, it must be said, managed like any other business. Without activity, the shortfall will be enormous and today I see some of my colleagues who unfortunately find themselves idle and unemployed, which may seem absurd. Will all private clinics recover, nothing is less certain!
Read the rest of the interview on the website agentsdentretiens.com
