Work in the emergency room is not only caring for and saving lives, it is also looking for beds to accommodate patients. At the Nord-Franche-Comté hospital, weekdays, a whole cell is devoted to this task. But on weekends and at night, it is up to the health executive to carry out this mission.
This Saturday morning, it’s barely 8 o’clock and the emergency rooms are already in a state of saturation. Isabelle Jacques is the daytime bed manager and her two phones ring constantly.
On his computer screen is displayed the list of all the patients present in the emergency room, their age, their waiting time and the reasons for their arrival. On another page, there is the list of beds available throughout the hospital. “This morning, there are 23 emergency patients waiting to be hospitalized in a department and we have very few beds at the moment”notes the health framework.
“Come on, we keep courage” – Isabelle Jacques, emergency health manager
To this mission of just-in-time bed management, Added to this is the management of day-to-day business. Isabelle Jacques has to order medication, manage the absence of a nurse or change the battery of a device. In the midst of it all, she takes the time to take a tour of the ward and slip candy into the caregivers’ pockets. “Come on, let’s keep courage”she says.
“We literally pushed the walls” – Doctor Charles Eric Lavoignet, head of emergencies
At the end of her day, around 8 p.m., Isabelle Jacques managed to find a bed for the 23 patients on the waiting list that morning. But since then, dozens of others have been added to the list. On a small piece of paper, she indicates that this day, nine patients waited more than 24 hours in the service. The capacity of the service is usually 50 or even 60 people, this Saturday it received 103 at the same time.
“She did miraclesnotes Doctor Charles Eric Lavoignet, head of emergencies. We literally pushed the walls today.”
In addition to the lack of places for patients, there is a shortage of caregivers: in the emergency room of the Trévenans hospital, 32 doctors would be needed at cruising speed, there are now 24.
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