In normal times, the Saint-Etienne hospital manages to adapt to the bronchiolitis epidemic. Each year an additional pediatric service is set up. Last year 13 beds were opened and we even went up to 18 beds to accommodate sick children. This fall everything was therefore planned from the end of November until the end of February. The CHU had recruited 7 nurses and as many childcare assistants. Their contract will begin on November 14 with training, with operational service on November 21. But with this early epidemic, the whole organization falls apart. It will only be in a little less than a month in the end, but by then the time may seem long to caregivers who are seeing their pace of work accelerate and the number of beds available reduce. Pediatric emergencies will therefore bend over backwards, thanks for example to the C pediatrics department, dedicated to 0 to 6 year olds. It has already seen its number of beds increase from 14 to 21 in a few days to help cope with this early epidemic as well as possible.
150 million euros, “not sure that solves the problem”
To deal with this situation shared throughout France, 150 million euros have been announced by the government to appease the anger of pediatricians. The plan therefore aims to increase the number of pediatric wards in hospitals, provided that staff are found, but this is not the miracle formula when 4,000 pediatric caregivers sent an open letter to Emmanuel Macron last week to deplore unsuitable working conditions and care. “The 150 million, I’m not sure that solves the problem there, now”reacts Doctor Olivier Mory, head of pediatric emergencies at the Saint-Etienne University Hospital. “You have to train professionals, engage them in this sector and it can’t be improvised. It’s not just a story of means, it’s a story of global attractiveness”.
Do not forget the city pediatrics
It is therefore the pediatric hospital services that are targeted by the government, but be careful not to forget the pediatricians in town, who are also overloaded (+25% of consultations each day during this epidemic.) They are essential to avoid overloading hospitals precisely explains Doctor Leila Abib, pediatrician in Firminy, representative in the Loire of the National Syndicate of French Pediatricians and signatory of the open letter to the president: “in town we teach parents to analyze the situation and see if we can wait or not before going to the emergency room. The number of patients we take in town and who will not go to the emergency room is a help for hospitals. It’s an important job that needs to be talked about and that needs to be revalued. The child who doesn’t go to the emergency room is a gain for the State”.