In the waiting room of the Chartres hospital on the evening of Friday December 24, it is rather quiet. There is only the family of little Ruben. His sister Maxine, says that his little brother hurt his nose. Ruben, three, has indeed hit a corner of the table. He is being looked after by the nurses and all is well.
At the reception, Perrine takes care of the patients. “Usually at 8 pm there are a lot of people who are still waiting for the day and many who arrive throughout the night”, so this December 24th quite calm “is not at all representative of our activity”, she explains.
In the corridors you have to look a little before finding patients. And to come across Martine, barefoot and in a dressing gown. She had had high temperature and pain in her stomach since the day before. “I just had an X-ray, they took my blood and I peed in a small jar”, she explains a little destabilized. Martine must indeed receive her children on Saturday to celebrate Christmas. “I hope I can get out,” she confides worried. The ward is almost empty, but the nurses know it won’t last. “For the next two days, normally it should be quieter. We have places in the hospital, which is rare.”, confides one of them.
So we have to take advantage of it a little. This is the opportunity for the staff to make “what we don’t have time to do the rest of the year”, explains Camille, nurse for 4 years, that is to say, to improve the daily life of night shifts. “We have a meal together with an improved dinner, a nice little table. My colleagues make a great effort at Christmas, she emphasizes. We’re with the emergency room family, that’s it. We’re having a family meal. Everyone brought back a little something, foie gras, salmon, log etc. And we will be able to distribute the gifts randomly. “ When asked what she would like for Christmas, Camille sighs: “A big check or beds, lots of beds for the days to come”, she says.
Coming to congratulate them for their involvement, even on New Years Eve, Deputy Director Yvon Le Tilly is delighted: “In this emergency medicine department as in the others, there is a very good organization and there was no particular difficulty in mobilizing the professionals”, he assures. But Camille recalls that the rest of the year, emergencies are in great pain and lack of personnel.
>> Yvon Le Tilly, however, apprehends the month of January at the Chartres hospital, since he is already facing a “significant absenteeism” of the staff.
At the end of the night, good news: little Ruben finally ends up without stitches but with a nice bandage.