“The worst weekend I have experienced”, according to Thomas Guérin, head of emergency at Roanne hospital

The information given by the communications department of the Roannais Hospital Center (CHR), at the beginning of last week, was surprising, even surprising. While the flu epidemic spread to most emergency services in the Region, forcing some to implement internal mobilization plans, such as at the Saint-Etienne University Hospital Center (CHU), the management of the Roanne hospital wanted reassurance for his part.

“The CHR is experiencing a moderate increase in activity, but we are not facing a massive influx of patients. However, the number of patients requiring hospitalization is at a high level. Capacity has been readjusted upwards with the “opening of three additional beds, two in pulmonology and one in post-emergency medicine”, then specified the hospital’s communications department, Thursday January 9. A situation far from reality, according to Thomas Guérin, head of the CHR emergency department since 2010. “It was a catastrophic weekend. I had never experienced that!”, insisted on Monday 13 January, the department head.

The emergency doctor further states that “we had a lot of difficulty managing the influx of patients. 22 people had to sleep on stretchers in the corridors of the department, because we did not have beds to have them hospitalized” . The CHR had not decided to put in place an internal mobilization plan, allowing it to increase its reception capacity. “We gave an update on the situation a few days after the weekend of January 4 and 5, when the influx of patients had undoubtedly already gone down,” explained the CHR communications department.

No mobilization plan initiated at the CHR

On Monday January 13, the situation became “a little more manageable”, according to Thomas Guérin. “The period is still tense, but we find ourselves in a more conventional epidemiological situation. We are coping,” assures the head of service.

No “internal mobilization plan” or “white plan”, as has been the case at the Saint-Etienne University Hospital since Friday January 10, has been implemented today at the Roanne hospital.