Posted 13 hours ago,
Reading 2 mins.
in collaboration with
Dr Gérald Kierzek (Medical Director of Doctissimo)
For six months, hospital crises have been breaking out all over the country. Hospitals are facing the difficulties they were already facing before Covid-19, only worse. Dr Kierzek, emergency physician and medical director of Doctissimo, provides an update on the situation.
Caregivers in burn-out, closed beds, emergencies only “at night”… The hospital environment is in great difficulty. What is this crisis due to?
Dr Gerald Kierzek: It has been taking place for years, everywhere in France. What bothers me is the way it is treated: instead of reorganizing the emergency room, we make the patients feel guilty by telling them “Don’t come”. However, this crisis should not deter patients. Personally, I don’t know anyone who comes to the emergency room for nothing.
In Bordeaux, access to emergencies is now limited at night. What do you think of this measure?
Dr Gerald Kierzek: It is an emergency measure, to alleviate an emergency situation. The problem is with the hospital, not the patients.
Is calling your doctor before going to the emergency room a good idea?
Dr Gerald Kierzek: Yes, the “good” course of care would be to go through your attending physician. Except that in reality many people do not have one and they are overwhelmed. The attending physicians are not necessarily accessible and, in the event of an emergency, the response time may prove to be too long. A technical and operational platform would in fact be necessary to respond to emergencies – because if a person feels pain in their chest, they cannot afford to wait.
“People do not come to the emergency room for pleasure”
Can self-diagnosis to declutter emergencies be an option?
Dr Gerald Kierzek: It’s very dangerous. Only health professionals can distinguish a real emergency from a perceived emergency. Otherwise, we will witness tragedies and all the benefits obtained following the prevention messages – in particular on the attitude to have in the event of a stroke, a heart attack… – will be lost.
Is the shortage of doctors and nurses likely to worsen in France?
Dr Gerald Kierzek: Yes, of course because it is a fundamental problem. Exhaustion is generalized, we are in a hellish race. Our hospitals are “sick factories” that crush both teams and patients. Nobody wants to stay.
“Hospitals have a problem of organization, attractiveness and resources”
The case of Rouen is also very representative of the situation: the CHU is in its 5th white plan. We bail out a sinking boat, when we should rethink the boat and the port.
What should be done to fix it?
Dr Gerald Kierzek: The hospital should be made attractive, by upgrading the staff both humanely and financially. Also rethink a hospital network on a human scale, throughout the territory – with small, medium and large structures. The staff would thus have a better quality of life and the patients would be better taken care of.