The SMUR (Structure Mobile d’Urgence et de Réanimation) of Chinon, a mobile hospital service which intervenes at the request of the SAMU for the most serious calls to 15, had to close temporarily yesterday afternoon, due to lack of personnel and vehicle. Service resumed at 8 p.m. It could also be disrupted this Sunday for lack of caregivers.
An unprecedented and “serious” situation
“Objectively, it’s a serious situation, which must not happen, but which in France, happens more and more“, testifies Guillem Bouilleau, the doctor in charge of emergencies at the Chinonais hospital.
I who live, who work, and who invest my whole life in this public service, in which I believe, I cannot accept this situation, it is a situation that I consider unacceptable.
“It’s common, but there, closing for three hours in the evening, it hadn’t happened for a long time“, confirms a caregiver, who wishes to remain anonymous.
Unreliable vehicles and a lack of caregivers
This Saturday evening, the doctor had to interrupt the SMUR of his territory for several hours. His team’s vehicle, which had been showing warning signs for several months and had not yet been replaced, was not usable.
“Usually we get another vehicle. But there, our staff being too limited on the emergencies of Chinonais, they are dedicated 100% to take care of the patients of the emergencies. You don’t have the option of picking up or rearming another vehicle.”
It happened to me during the week to make the SMUR unavailable for lack of a nurse, that’s correct.
An untenable situation for the employees. Some are considering leaving. “It’s been a while, but it’s sure to come to fruition. I have enough“, further testifies this caregiver.
Rare but potentially serious consequences
This service intervenes only 500 times a year on the Chinonais and the Rabelaisie, that is to say on average 1 to 2 times every 24 hours. But it is mobilized only for the most serious cases: cardiac arrest, tight chest, major asthma attacks, neurological problems. When it is not working in Chinon, it is the Tours SMUR which replaces it, 45 kilometers away. Guillem Bouilleau explains:
If we cross our fingers, there are no consequences. But my job is to work without crossing my fingers, and that we are coming to intervene for all the patients in our territory if they need it.
The Chinonais basin has around 80,000 potentially affected inhabitants.