Reconfigured to accommodate more patients, the establishment is on the front line in coordinated care in Eastern Occitania, with public hospitals and the private sector.
Thomas Le Ludec, director of the CHU, on Friday drew up a state of activity shaken by the coronavirus epidemic, surrounded by heads of department on the front line: emergencies, resuscitation and infectious diseases.
1. Sensitive peak of activity
This Friday, March 27, 75 people infected with the coronavirus were hospitalized at the Montpellier University Hospital: 45 in “infectious diseases”, 30 in intensive care. Numbers “in progress“, notes Thomas Le Ludec, who recalls that the infectious disease service usually welcomes “ten patients“. The resuscitation boss, Kada Klouche, says that one in two patients is over 50, with a median age of 65. 85-year-old patients with comorbidities are assessed and are generally no longer admitted to intensive care.
Another observation: the number of calls for suspected Covid-19 at Samu-Center 15 is decreasing, with 450 daily calls (1,500 a few days ago).
A total of 266 patients are cared for at home, in teleconsultation. 250 diagnostic tests are performed daily by the virology unit of the CHU, “a feat“, insists the director, especially since they should be faster and faster. 10% are positive. The message is soothing: “ The majority are doing well, despite the deaths “, 14 at the CHU since “stage 3” of the epidemic. Excluding Covid 19, the activity of the CHU was reorganized: “We did 1 675 teleconsultations, 200 per day“, lists the director.
For Patrice Taourel, representative of doctors on the establishment medical committee, the Montpellier University Hospital “is not underwater because the epidemic is less strong today than in the East and Ile de France “,” because it’s surrounded by strong peripheral hospitals “,” because the liberal sector is mobilizing, there is a huge solidarity “.
2. Caregivers on the front line
At the CHU, 48 caregivers are positive for Covid-19, including 17 doctors. The medical reserve, retirees called in for reinforcement, was not called upon, but medical students of the 5th year to carry out administrative tasks.
3. Research is organized
Hydroxychloroquine, at the heart of controversies, hopes, fantasies, is tested at the University Hospital which explores other therapeutic avenues, confirms Professor Reynes, head of infectiology (Noon Free March 23). A specific Occitania therapeutic project will be launched in the Nîmes and Montpellier teaching hospitals and at Perpignan hospital.
4. Testimonies and calls for solidarity
Individuals and businesses manifest themselves through donations of materials (masks, gloves, gel), meals, a “generous donor ” offers daily meals cooked by a great chef.
The material situation is improving: “ We have recovered surgical masks and FFP2, deliveries are regular but the situation remains tense “, specifies the director of the CHU who faces “sharks and people who offer bogus solutions“.Thomas Le Ludec finally indicates that a credit line dedicated to Covid 19 has been punctually opened via the Ghilhem Fund of the CHU, which brings together patrons, to support caregivers and patients.
The Perpignan hospital under tension
Charged by the regional health agency to pilot a support cell for the management of the epidemic with the hospitals of Eastern Occitania, the director of the CHU of Montpellier reports a “crisis” situation in Perpignan: ” The activity is similar to that of the Montpellier University Hospital, in a smaller population pool, “says Thomas Le Ludec. The Perpignan hospital has thus gone from 25 to 55 intensive care beds, and probably beyond in the coming days.
The Montpellier CHU has been strengthening the existing team for a week via an administrative and medical “technical support cell”: 20 respirators have been sent to the site, other machines will follow.
“We are doing our utmost to avoid the transfer of patients to Montpellier, and to avoid loss of luck due to transport,” says Thomas le Ludec. It is in Perpignan that the patient, apparently the youngest in Occitania, is treated: he is 24 years old.
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