Meggy, 25, died suddenly on October 15 in Montpellier following acute meningitis.
His family filed a complaint, citing a delay in providing assistance despite several reports.
After noticing worrying symptoms, her best friend explains to TF1’s 8 p.m. that she herself called the SAMU twice.
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The 8 p.m.
Could Meggy, who died from acute meningitis, have been saved if her state of health had been taken seriously by the emergency services? On October 15, her best friend, who testifies anonymously in the TF1 8 p.m. report at the top of this article, went to the 25-year-old young woman’s house in downtown Montpellier. Meggy then complains of body aches and vomiting. “When I saw his condition, I felt that it was more serious than I could have imagined, so I immediately called the SAMU,” explains the young woman.
Two calls in less than an hour
At 3:15 p.m., the call was received by a first dispatcher from the departmental emergency call center. “He said to me: ‘give him water with sugar’. He gives me an address for SOS doctors. I tell her that I don’t have transportation, that I can’t move her, that she can’t move anymore, and that someone has to come and see her.”remembers Meggy’s best friend. “What wasn’t very pleasant was the feeling of contempt we got on the phone, a real feeling of judgment and not being helped”continues the young woman.
While the regulator does not send anyone to the scene, Meggy’s symptoms worsen. She can’t feel her hand or her legs. At 3:45 p.m., her best friend decided to call the firefighters, before being redirected to the same call center. On the other end of the line, a new person gives other advice. “Run your hands under hot water, and then go take a hot shower and you’ll be fine.”she reports. This time again, no help was sent to the site.
This is injustice.
Meggy’s best friend
At 4:56 p.m., Meggy was transported unconscious by car by another friend to the Polyclinique Saint-Roch in Montpellier. In severe respiratory distress, she was transferred to Montpellier University Hospital at 5:30 p.m., where she died shortly before 7:30 p.m. “It’s injustice, what happened. It shouldn’t have happened like this. If she had been taken care of properly at 3 p.m., she would be here,” laments her best friend.
Meggy’s family filed a complaint. An investigation was opened by the Montpellier public prosecutor’s office to investigate the causes of death, specifies the Montpellier deputy prosecutor, contacted by TF1/LCI. According to him, the family filed a complaint and blamed the delay in the failure to initiate emergency services, despite two calls (firefighters then SAMU).
Investigators are currently analyzing call recordings. The Montpellier University Hospital, to which the SAMU center in question depends, indicates that several measures have been taken within the establishment, without specifying which ones.
