the management of Remiremont hospital recognizes a “failure” after several suspicious deaths

“We can consider that we have not fulfilled our duty.” The management of the Remiremont Hospital Center (Vosges) recognized, on the evening of Wednesday October 11, a “failure situation”, while several complaints target him for suspicious deaths, particularly in his orthopedic and traumatic surgery department. Scheduled care is still suspended there, for at least eight days. A dozen complaints were filed by relatives or families of hospital patients, several of them after suspicious deaths.

“The situation is completely unprecedented,” regretted the general director of the establishment, Dominique Cheveau, during a press conference organized with the Grand Est Regional Health Agency. A patient died on October 3 following a “serious adverse event” in the orthopedic and traumatic surgery department, while five other suspicious deaths within the same unit had already given rise to the opening, in January, of a medico-administrative investigation by the ARS. This first investigation ended in September, explained Virginie Cayré, general director of ARS Grand Est.

“Inspection reveals organizational problems”

A second investigation, opened after the last death, “confirmed the difficulties already identified in the first reports”, specified Virginie Cayré. Among the dysfunctions identified, the Regional Health Agency reports a “poor medical record keeping”, the absence of visits in good conditions by the surgeon of patients who have been operated on, problems of “staff” medical or even a lack of supervision of interns by a tutor. “Inspection reveals organizational problems”according to Virginie Cayré.

The ARS, which indicates that the hospital has already provided “a big job” to remedy this, gives him a period of eight days to meet all the conditions for good patient care, and will monitor the implementation of his injunctions before deciding whether or not to resume scheduled patient care. this service. The director of the establishment, who had suspended all scheduled surgical care on October 4, will make his decision on Thursday regarding the reopening of other surgical services for scheduled care. The establishment also acknowledged having already had “suspicions” malfunctions and ensures that they have been working to correct them since “several months”.