For a month, the sick tremble on the beds or stretchers of the hospital d’Orsay. In the middle of winter, the structure has n no more heating for fault not yet fixed. Services are expected to move in a year and a half. Meanwhile, patient care is becoming increasingly complicated.
In the crowded emergency room, Marie-Noëlle keeps her coat on her back. This visitor comes to see her father, who is hospitalized and has had no heat for several days. “I felt a temperature difference. I felt the cold in the hall and also in the corridors that give access to the sick rooms,” says Marie-Noëlle.
At the hospital d’Orsay, the thermometer dropped to twelve degrees. “I’ve seen patients on gurneys in cold corridors,” explains this visitor. Auxiliary heaters are used to warm patients.
The staff “can’t take it anymore”
One of the entrance doors is also broken, allowing drafts to enter. Even for the staff this situation is unbearable. “The temperature is practically similar to the outside one. The patients are freezing. We are trying to find alternative solutions such as extra blankets or sheets,” explains a carer.
Another problem is the repeated hot water cuts. In this case, the staff use the kettle to wash the patients. “Put an end to the end, psychologically, we can’t take it anymore (…) we cry“, continues a staff member. Contacted by the editorial staff, the hospital management did not want to respond.
