at the Toulouse University Hospital, a high-voltage intensive care unit and exhausted caregivers

At the Toulouse Purpan University Hospital (Haute-Garonne), 10 out of 16 intensive care beds are occupied by patients sick with Covid-19. The situation has an impact on the organization of the service. “For 80% of them, they are not vaccinated. We say to ourselves that perhaps, if they were vaccinated, we would have (…) more room to deal with other pathologies, which are really present”, comments Béatrice Riu-Poulenc, head of the intensive care unit.

Patients with Covid-19 are between 50 and 75 years old. Christian arrived in intensive care three days ago. Today under high flow oxygen, he could not imagine being here and changed his mind about the vaccination. Others have a darker diagnosis. Between fatigue and resignation, caregivers are once again on the front line. Increased overtime has been released. However, the resuscitation staff at the Toulouse Purpan University Hospital did not desert, unlike other hospitals.