The University Hospitals of Geneva (HUG) are on the right track. “They are at the top in their three essential missions: care, teaching and research,” says their former general director Bertrand Levrat, who ended his mandate at the end of April.
“During these eleven years, I never stopped asking myself if I would send the members of my family to any service. If in doubt, I intervened,” notes Bertrand Levrat in a review interview published Thursday by the daily Le Temps. “I am handing over the keys to a hospital of excellence with very committed professionals,” he continues.
The former director feels he leaves a hospital in better shape when he leaves than when he arrived. “Notably because I gave people a taste and desire for entrepreneurship during my mandate. I introduced a culture of entrepreneurship in the hospital: everyone can carry out projects if they have a good idea,” he says.
Extraordinary commitment
The Covid crisis has obviously marked its era. “No one from the outside can understand what we went through, the decisions we had to make. At one point, there were only three days of anesthetics left for all of French-speaking Switzerland,” he illustrates. -he.
“Everyone was extraordinarily committed: the doctors and caregivers, but also the cleaners, the transporters and the cooks. And this over time. There were seven waves and we welcomed nearly 12,000 covid patients. As in Italy, we were on the verge of rupture. Such an experience marks as much as it unites,” he underlines.
And to note that the “support from the political authorities has been very strong. We have suffered significant deficits, because we had to fully mobilize for covid patients to the detriment of other activities, surgical in particular. This is what explains the discrepancy with the budget. The State compensated our losses, to the tune of several hundred million francs.
Errors
Among other significant events, Bertrand Levrat cites the death of Adeline, which deeply marked and affected him. “I had been at the head of the HUG for three months when she was assassinated (…).. I don’t feel like I made any mistakes, but I was personally involved. I had a lot of think about the situation, what we could have done better or differently.
In a less dramatic context, Bertrand Levrat admits to having “mistaken” by wanting to change the badges. “Another time, I was also the laughing stock of all the employees: the salaries of some 13,000 employees were paid twice. We are talking about 120 million francs! (…). We recovered all the money. “I had nothing to do with the money, but as director I was responsible for everything.”
Assured transition
As for the transition with his successor Robert Mardini who will take office in September, it is ensured by the entire management which is “solid”, he certifies. “Moreover, the medical director, Arnaud Perrier, remains precisely for this reason until the end of the year (…) before retiring. For my part, the decision was not taken on a spur of the moment. After more than ten years in the institution, I wanted to carry out other projects.”
This article was automatically published. Source: ats
