A toothache, stomach aches, a fever… so many health problems that do not necessarily deserve to go to the emergency room. But sometimes, it is impossible to reach your doctor, so you go there anyway. A practice that is still too common and contributes to the overcrowding of emergency services in Strasbourg hospitals. To overcome this problem and strengthen the offer of city medicine, the New Civil Hospital (NHC) of Strasbourg, the city and SOS Médecins Bas-Rhin are opening a on-call medical center.
The new structure, installed in the heart of the NHC will receive you the Friday, 7 p.m. to midnight and Saturday and Sunday, 12 p.m. to 8 p.m.. These general medical consultations will be provided by a doctor from SOS Médecins. “We estimate the passage to five patients per hour”says Dr. Dan Sellam, president of the association in the Bas-Rhin and project leader.
A step towards relieving emergency room congestion
“I do not think that this device nor myself have the pretension to solve the problem of overcrowding in the emergency room which is much more complex than that of patients who have made a “referral error”, which is the responsibility of the city medicine and who end up in the emergency room. But Professor Bilbault [chef du services des urgences du NHC, ndlr] and I have the ambition to work together to develop this medical center […] to go to the maximum of what city medicine can offer”, details Doctor Sellam.
Indeed, discussions between the NHC, the Regional Health Agency and SOS Médecins are underway to expand the offer of the medical center. Ultimately, the new structure could rely on the NHC to offer biological and radiological examinations. And why not, extend its opening hours from Monday to Sunday. No timetable has been set to date. “It’s premature, you shouldn’t set goals and be disappointed if they aren’t achieved”tempers Dr. Sellam.