Six weeks. This is the period of “normal operation” of operating theaters at CHRU Minjoz since the world entered the Covid era. Six tiny weeks of respite, at the heart of a permanent storm for caregivers, always mobilized, but often exhausted.
As the epidemic escalates again, Chantal Carroger, CEO of the hospital, and Pr Samuel Limat, president of the medical commission, details for Eastern Republican a real “concern”.
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“A strong tension” which has persisted since October
For Chantal Carroger, the CHRU suffers from “an atypical situation”: that of a second endless wave of Covid. “In the other departments, there was a drop from mid-December. Not with us. With the exception of barely ten days, our level of occupancy of our beds has exceeded 100% since mid-October. We are on a plateau that is not declining, which generates strong tension and strong fatigue among the staff, ”warns the director.
The current acceleration of contaminations in the Doubs, with an incidence rate of around 400, is pushing these curves upwards. “We have passed a new course in the last fortnight, we feel that it is even more tense in emergencies and within services”, continues Samuel Limat.
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Staff wear and tear and fear of a “tipping over”
“Everyone is fed up,” says Chantal Carroger, who confesses “to share the concern of the staff” about the immediate future: “We wonder if we will be able to manage a third wave, if it is also violent and durable than advertised. We have beautiful energies, a strength of resistance, but we do not know how far we can go, nor how long we can hold. We are at the breaking point. I’m not saying this to scare or cry over our plight. It’s not the collapse, but it would take little for it to tip over. “
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Absenteeism on the rise
Bad indicator, the rate of staff absenteeism is increasing (+ 14% among nursing assistants, in particular). Doctors, for their part, “spend their life in the hospital”, increasing the number of night stays. “There is considerable pressure in the establishment, we feel it daily. It is due to both the intensity and the duration of this crisis, ”summarizes Professor Limat.
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“Monstrous effort” of internal reorganization
The president of the medical commission criticizes a possible “trivialization of the situation”, pointing out a major difference with the first confinement: the CHRU must this time continue to welcome non-Covid patients, which requires “a monstrous effort in terms of hospital organization, with a lot of staff to redeploy. All the disciplines of the hospital are impacted by the Covid, either directly or because they have been deprived of their means “, underlines the Pr Limat.
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Fifty beds requisitioned for Covid patients
“We have relieved ourselves of about fifty medicine beds to do Covid, so we spend our time chasing new beds for normal care. We are almost systematically overflowing in gastrointestinal, diabeto, hemato, rheumatoid, nephritis or internal medicine ”, Samuel Limat list.
The intensive care unit has increased from 40 to 65 beds in order to accommodate around 40 Covid patients on the one hand, and people suffering from serious pathologies on the other. “In general, this Covid and non-Covid cohabitation is very difficult to manage,” sighs the chairman of the medical committee.
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7,000 unscheduled surgical operations
With a stinging consequence on surgical deprogramming, up to 40% less operating time. Medical debt is growing, although life-saving interventions are maintained. “We already have 7,000 overdue operations,” calculates Samuel Limat. A figure that is also worrying.
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