According to the CGT, since July 10, more than 130 patients have spent more than 12 hours in the emergency room, including around forty who waited more than 20 hours.
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In front of the emergency room of the Brest University Hospital (CHU) in Finistère, the “wall of shame” was enlarged on Tuesday, August 20 by unions with, on it, the many names of patients over 75 years old who spent more than 12 hours in the emergency room, reports France Bleu Breizh Izel. According to the CGT, since July 10, this has been the case for 130 patients and around forty of them have waited more than 20 hours.
On each A4 sheet is written an initial, the number of hours and the date. “Mrs. C, 93 years old, who spent 23 hours on a stretcher, Mr. S, 89 years old, spent 30 hours on a stretcher…”reads Stéphane Vielmas, operating theatre nurse and union representative within the hospital.
“A study carried out by AP-HP explains that a night spent on a stretcher in the emergency room increases mortality by more than 40% for patients over 75 years old”says the unionist, “People are doing everything they can in the emergency room to take care of them, it’s just a problem of the length of time it takes to take care of them which is no longer acceptable in our emergency rooms.”
“This is due to the fact that we have a shortage of staff to carry out additional examinations in radiology or biology and above all a shortage of beds, because some should be hospitalized, but we do not have hospital beds to take care of them”adds the nurse, “Emergency rooms are just a reflection and a funnel of the health problem in France.” A strike movement began in mid-July in the emergency department of Brest University Hospital.
