Written by Marine Rondonnier
Florence Joulin’s father was admitted to the emergency room of the Louis Pasteur hospital in Chartres this Tuesday, June 25 at 1 p.m. Since his admission, his daughter has only been able to see him for a minute after having to cause “a scandal”. She denounces abuse while her father is at the end of his life and he cannot hear. User management reacted by explaining the situation as excessive saturation of emergencies.
“My father is 88 years old. He is at the end of his life. He suffers from lung and pancreatic cancer. We took him to the emergency room of Chartres hospital because we suspected a risk of intestinal obstruction. When it’s urgent, we don’t think. Now I regret bringing him here.“
Florence Joulin is angry and at the end of her nerves. His father has been on a stretcher in the emergency room of the Louis Pasteur hospital in Chartres since Tuesday, June 25, at 1 p.m. “I was refused to visit him. I find that unacceptable. I had no information and no contact with the doctors.”
The next day, this Wednesday, Florence Joulin returned to the hospital. “I caused a scandal with contained remarks. I was even applauded by the people who were there. Apparently I wasn’t the only one.”
The patient’s daughter then contacted the users’ committee, which informed her that there was a law authorizing her to visit her father and stay there for a minute or two as a caregiver.
At the hospital, she first gets a refusal then she says that the director is coming to meet her. “He told me I was selfish and that the department was overwhelmed.” She replies that “It’s not her fault, she just wants to see her father.”
So the director allows him to come into the emergency department for a minute. “There should normally be 20 places. There must be 40 of them. He is still on his stretcher under a ventilation grill. He doesn’t have a sheet. He’s frozen. And after a minute I was told to leave because I was bothering everyone. I just had time to tell my father: Don’t worry, we’ll come get you soon.“
So she leaves but demands to get her father out of the hospital.”He no longer speaks. He no longer hears. It’s abuse to leave him there alone on a stretcher. He’s super stressed. He must be wondering where he is. I won’t leave without him.”
He will die. I’d rather he die at home than alone on his stretcher here.
Florence Joulin, daughter of an emergency patient at the Louis Pasteur hospital in Chartres
Florence Joulin’s father has received the necessary care but he must first have a scan and see a doctor before he can be released. “If it takes two days to get a scan it’s not possible. He will die. I’d rather he die at home than alone on his stretcher here. But I can’t steal it.”
Along with her three sisters, she is ready to sign a release for him to be released. She will stay in the hospital until her father is released.
The users’ committee to which Florence Joulin turned is responsible for welcoming users’ comments and supporting them so that their rights are respected.
“Normally each person who is not able to express themselves alone must be able to be accompanied by a caregiver. It is provided for by law and this did not happen, it is entirely regrettable.” explains Françoise Talbot, one of the user representatives of the Chartres hospital center. She adds that “User management is fully aware of the difficulties and is working to find solutions” particularly for emergency reception conditions.
Yvon Le Tilly is the director of users of Chartres hospitals. He called Florence Joulin to reassure her and explain “the exceptional situation” in which the emergency rooms of the Louis Pasteur hospital center are located.
“She was angry because she couldn’t see her dad but it was in a very special context,” explains the user director. “There is a general context of bed saturation in the emergency medicine department. Given the excessive saturation of emergencies, it was impossible to accommodate him. There were patients everywhere. But I spoke with her and she seemed satisfied at the end of our conversation.”
This Wednesday at the end of the afternoon, the user management communicated on access to emergencies which must be reserved for the most serious cases. “The Chartres Hospital Center is currently facing saturation of its emergency medicine service, with very long waiting times and beds in the hospitalization units themselves all occupied. In view of the worsening situation, the population is therefore called for increased vigilance. Patients, alone or accompanied, are therefore asked to come to the hospital only if truly necessary.”
Florence Joulin confirmed that the situation had calmed down. Her father has to be hospitalized and she admits that the director of users helped her. “It’s a shame to get to this point, to call people and struggle to have my case studied in a very personal way, while behind there are lots of people who haven’t had this chance.”
Florence no longer waits for her father to leave the hospital since he must be hospitalized.
