–
La 2e wave fell on Hauts-de-France and more particularly on the North. Hainaut Cambrésis is strongly affected ”, begins the director of the hospital, Rodolphe Bouret. We expected it, we are there. The configuration is different from last March-April-May, when the first wave, violent and brutal, had submerged the hospital center. This time, the rise of the epidemic is more gradual, but no less severe. With this additional constraint for nursing staff to take care of patients whose operations were unscheduled during the first wave and who now require urgent care. This is why the CHV is not able to rearm its Covid device as intensely – in number of beds – as before. In the event of saturation – which is likely to happen very soon – patient transfers will therefore be carried out with neighboring hospitals which are preparing to increase their capacity to support Covid.
Where is the situation at the CHV now?
Rodolphe Bourret : The incidence rate is high in Hauts-de-France: 272.56 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, with a positivity rate of 14.3%. As of October 19, 232 clusters have been recorded in Hauts-de-France. 500 patients are hospitalized, including 150 in intensive care. At the Valenciennes hospital center, 70 Covid patients were taken care of by the CHV on Wednesday, October 21. The incidence rate is increasing steadily and steadily. For example, on October 2, 17 Covid patients were treated at the CHV, including 6 hospitalized in intensive care and 3 in continuing care. 10 days later, they were 35, including 3 in continuing care, and 8 in intensive care. On Wednesday, 70 patients were taken care of, 15 of whom had to be hospitalized in intensive care and 6 in a continuing care unit. We are facing a very sharp acceleration in the number of hospitalizations. The number of admissions to the CHV has doubled. We set up a system in 6 phases. And we are already almost at 6e. After the white plan which ended in June, we had 4 Covid beds and very low acute care admission activity at the end of June, July and August. But from September, it accelerated. During the first wave, the evolution was brutal, with an increase in load of almost double what we currently know. We were overwhelmed by hospitalizations. The difference today is that the climb is more regular. The 21 Covid acute care beds are occupied.
The device was 80 Covid beds during the first wave. He is not the same today?
We had in fact deployed 41 intensive care beds and 40 continuing care beds. During the 1time vague, we completely deprogrammed the non-essential operations that were planned. However, these people ended up needing care. Today, we therefore find ourselves having to manage two flows: Covid patients and non-Covid patients. We must take care of all these chronic pathologies. We have not yet finished catching up with unscheduled patients. We had planned to fully catch up in November, but it is the epidemic that is catching up with us… All the establishments are in the same situation.
How will you handle the rise in Covid cases these
next days ?
There are only three intensive care units in Hainaut: Maubeuge, Cambrai and Valenciennes. We work in coordination with the Parc clinic and the Tessier clinic in particular. We try to make transfers to other establishments, knowing that they are in the same situation as us… That is to say saturated. The difficulty of inter-establishment transfer really exists. The ARS has been coordinating an increase in the cost of acute care beds since last Monday. Thus, Maubeuge will go from 6 to 10 beds and Cambrai from 3 to 5 beds. Denain is in the process of setting up a continuing care unit on 6 beds and Fourmies too. For our part, we have already deprogrammed 45% of non-urgent operations such as prostheses, cosmetic surgery, etc.
Is there a “typical profile” of
patients for this 2e vague ?
During the 1time vague, it was mostly seniors and people at risk. Here, we are dealing with more young adults and hospitalizations also concern those under 60. We have the impression that the patients arrive in a much more serious condition than before. They stay at home for several days, trying to manage the situation on their own and end up arriving in an emergency.
Are hospital staff ready to cope again?
Our staff got very tired during the 1time wave. We try to preserve our rest time as much as possible, with holidays and RTT. It is important for our staff who have already gone through this period to rest, because this epidemic will last. There is necessarily a little apprehension and worry, this is normal. We know that in a fortnight, Covid cases will double again. With the management, in parallel, of emergencies related to epidemics of influenza and future bronchiolitis. Since many operations are canceled, the staff of the surgical center comes to reinforce the Covid unit. Staff transfers are again being made. Mutual aid has been set up. The CHV is again closed to the public (except for children and palliative care), to protect patients and professionals.
The situation in Hainaut, one of the most important population areas in the region, nestled between the Lille metropolis and Belgium, is turning red. As we go to press, the Minister of Health Olivier Véran is preparing to make announcements that could have consequences for the territory. It is rumored, a few hours before the verdict, that a curfew could, here too, be put in place. P. B.
–
