According to a new study, there is a very specific day when the wait in the Emergency Department is endless!
Many people have already experienced an interminable wait in the Emergency Department. And the least we can say is that things don’t seem to be getting better. According to a study, there is a specific day when patients wait longer.
A number of visits to the Emergency Department which has doubled
On December 12, the Directorate of Research, Studies, Evaluation and Statistics (Drees) put forward some rather impressive figures. In fact, emergency services would have recorded no less than 20 million visits in 2023.
What equates to approximately 55,000 patients per day. Very high attendance. Especially since, in 1996, the number of recorded passages was 10 million.
In less than thirty years, hospital staff, already under pressure, must take care of twice as many patients. Faced with this constant influx, emergency services must deal with sometimes impressive peaks of activity.
The study highlights that welcoming a number of patients that varies greatly from one day to the next remains a major challenge. “Emergency services must adapt to receiving a number of patients that sometimes varies extremely from one day to the next”underlines Drees.
On busy days, attendance can be 20% higher than on ordinary days. Variations in attendance are not the same throughout the territory.
According to the study, certain departments face even greater gaps between days of high and low activity. In the Hautes-Alpes, Corsica, Mayotte or Lozère, the influx can increase to more than 50% between these periods.
Worst day of the week
Twelve other departments, including Orne, Vosges, Yvelines and Vendée, also experience variations of between 40% and 50%. These figures reveal the extent of the pressure weighing on hospitals in these regions.
Please note that, contrary to what you might think, the weekend is not the time when the wait is the longest. If Saturdays and Sundays see sustained activity, Monday stands out as the busiest day in almost all of France.
The study indicates that in 92 departments, Emergency attendance on Monday is 11% higher compared to other days of the week. This phenomenon can be explained by the accumulation of patients who waited until the beginning of the week to consult after a health problem occurred during the weekend.
As Drees points out, these services are intended to accommodate patients with serious or urgent symptoms. This is the case for people who have breathing difficulties, a severe burn or heavy bleeding.
But also violent trauma, chest pain, inability to move a limb or to express oneself, convulsions. Or even a sudden loss of vision. In these situations, if travel to the Emergency Department is impossible, you can call 15.
The SAMU regulatory center will then be able to assess the seriousness of the situation. If necessary, he will plan the emergency intervention. If you don’t have any real emergencies, it’s better prefer an appointment with the doctor.
Tags : EMERGENCIES
