Bright 19th century facade, cozy inner courtyard, tropical plants, and monastic silence; the first floor of the Saint-Roch hospital displays a decor made of tranquility. A few rare patients come to feed the goldfish in the pretty basin at the center. A new cafeteria offers treats to visitors.
The downside is in the basement. The annex of the hospital, built recently, has been entirely dedicated to the EMS since 1994. There is no time to dwell on the decor. The vast area witnesses the relentless flow of EMS vehicles, firefighters, and stretchers, constantly coming and going with the rhythm of the emergencies.
In June, the Saint-Roch emergency services received nearly 20,000 calls, handled about 16,000 of them, and responded 589 times. This summer, there hasn’t been any particular overload, thanks notably to the creation of a mobile gerontology team. Its role—relieving the emergency services by sending elderly care personnel and a social worker to homes. Another way to relieve the emergency services is by creating a “Medical House” that welcomes patients after the closing hours of general medicine offices. “Nice is a special city. The summers have always been hot. Even in 2003, it was tough, but we quickly adapted,” insists Viviane Pons-Bertaina, senior health manager and former nurse. Indeed, the summer of 2006 went on without a hitch.
In ten years, Saint-Roch has accomplished a Herculean task. “In 1995, at Christmas, in 1996 and 1997, we had numerous complaints concerning the quality of the reception, the overcrowding… Today, no more!” asserts the Mayor of Nice, during a courtesy visit on Monday to the Emergency department. “We can always do better,” nuances Jean-Jacques Romatet, the general director of the Nice University Hospital. Jacques Peyrat came to “draw an assessment”, salute the courage of the emergency workers and boost the troops, despite a clearly positive summer. “We must not rest on our laurels at a time of a toughening situation,” he warned the management.
The emergency service was restructured in 2000 to improve the quality of its care for users. Disaster struck! Two months ago, a fire devastated half the building. Since then, the staff has resigned themselves to a single entrance and a permanent lack of space. “It’s problematic,” admits Viviane Pons-Bertaina. “But we’ve tightened up…”.
The service is divided into three sections: medicine, surgery, and trauma, enhanced with a specific area for detainees and a unit dedicated to patients with psychiatric disorders. The premises are as if awaiting relocation to Pasteur II, the new hospital with 655 beds. Little space, no air conditioning, a staff shortage, and, to top it off, a slight odor of urine in the corridors.
The medical team strives their best to urgently treat the 260 daily entries. The waiting time is 2 to 4 hours for about ten available caregiving staff. “This is an unavoidable waiting time, between care, analyses, and the scanner,” assures the director of the establishment, Ms. Santori-Le Vaillant. “But it is more of a problem of desires. We spare no expense in our recruitments.”
Emergencies inevitably face a staff shortage. “It’s a tough job. The desire is there, but it’s very challenging. Many young recruits give up. That’s why we need to recognize emergency medicine as a true specialty, like in England,” protests Patrick Baque, a senior lecturer at the Nice University Hospital.
The more the number of emergency doctors decreases, the more the concern of a new deadly heat wave looms on the horizon of 2007. The Mayor is clear: “I am convinced that we have entered a cycle of climate change whose exact consequences are unknown. I am afraid that in the future it will get warmer for increasingly longer periods.” This should motivate future doctors to become emergency physicians…
