30% of hospitals report serious incidents following surges in the epidemic, according to Samu-Urgence de France

Faced with these figures, Samu Urgence de France is calling in particular for more bed openings during periods of epidemic.

30% of hospitals reported serious incidents following surges in the flu epidemic. This is the result of an investigation carried out by Samu-Urgence de France from January 9 to 12. More than 130 private and public establishments were surveyed. 89% of them triggered during this period either a “white plan” or the “hospital tension plan”.

“We are poorly cared for”says Marc Noiset, president of Samu-urgences de France, Friday January 17 on franceinfo. “The current epidemic situation which saturates our emergency services causes care which is not necessarily safe and of quality”he adds. The downstream emergency services where patients are hospitalized for only a few days were saturated in 90% of cases. In 93% of emergency departments, the number of “stretcher patients” has jumped. And yet, a third of the establishments surveyed had deprogrammed part of the surgical activity, more than 40% had reorganized care.

Faced with this influx of patients, less than 10% of emergency medical services were able to call on reinforcements from regulating doctors or regulating assistants. Consequently: Samu Urgence de France is calling for more bed openings during epidemics. The structure denounces inhumane treatment of patients.

To better measure it, Samu Urgence de France demands that every morning, the number of “stretcher patients” be published in each hospital. Among its demands: a definitive ban on the possibility of hospitalizing a person in a corridor or even the bringing up to date of national steering meetings canceled at the end of 2023.