A hospital “in tension” … In Charente-Maritime, hospitals are no exception to the disorganization linked to Covid. At La Rochelle-Ré-Aunis hospital center, the biggest of the department, “we are concerned about the lack of beds and caregivers”, alarms the director Pierre Thépot, who takes stock of the situation of his establishment.
Closed operating theaters
As of December 30, there was nine patients hospitalized in intensive care due to Covid at La Rochelle hospital “out of around forty Covid patients in all, distributed between the La Rochelle and Rochefort centers”, specifies the director Pierre Thépot.
To accommodate these patients, the hospital is reorganizing itself: “We have closed operating rooms and are freeing beds. Today, in the medical services, there is no longer a single bed available”, deplores the director. “But we remain flexible, we know how to reorganize”, he nuances. He says to himself all the same very worried about the New Years festivities : “We expect a sharp rise in cases after”, both on the patient side and on the caregiver side.
The staff, always so “tired”
Because the increase in Covid cases does not only impact patients, but also caregivers. Many of them are contact cases “while there are already fewer staff during the holiday season”, explains Pierre Thépot. “The staff are tired, especially as the schedule changes and reorganization has been going on for months.”
For now, the hospital group is still trying to deprogram as little as possible. “We analyze the situation week after week”, notes Pierre Thépot. A crisis meeting is to be held on December 31, to decide whether or not to increase deprogramming.