Crisis of pediatrics: 400 doctors ask Emmanuel Macron to act without delay

“Your silence is deafening.” The attack is directed directly at the President of the Republic and comes from hundreds of doctors. At the forum in Mir, 400 heads of pediatric services and all scientific societies of pediatrics called on the head of state to immediately intervene in the situation in the hospital.

They are facing an unprecedented epidemic of bronchiolitis in infants. A peak is expected “by the end of the week,” the liberal pediatrics union said on Monday, which is calling for stronger barrier gestures to counter this usually mild condition, but which can be serious in newborns.

But for the signatories, these precautions will not prevent the evil that is already happening. “During this month, we faced something that we didn’t even dare to imagine: every day children were hospitalized on a stretcher or on their parents’ knees in the intensive care unit, in a room converted for this purpose, children were intubated and hospitalized without a ward in intensive care. resuscitation corridor, too late departure and unreliable care, premature return home and emergency return of children sent home due to lack of space, dozens of transfers from sectors to intensive care, but also to classical hospitalization,” condemn the signatories of the tribune.

“Bad remake of the Covid-19 pandemic”

This epidemic, they say, “turned into a bad remake of the Covid-19 pandemic.” The latter, like the flu, threatens to create a triple epidemic in the hospital. “We thought that transporting children 300 km from home was a serious degradation of medical care, now we see that it could be worse: no longer be able to translate, because the epidemic has swept everywhere, saturating all French pediatric services. We used to feel guilty sending teenagers into adult services, now we send 3 year olds.”

In addition to acknowledging the responsibility of the state for this crisis, these doctors call for a number of concrete measures. For example, “taking the necessary measures to ensure the work of caregivers in the hospital”, recognizing “the specificity and experience of paediatrics”, placing the hospital service “at the center of decisions”, increasing the “number of young people trained in nursing”. professions and provide general pediatric training for all, in particular by re-establishing pediatrics in nursing schools and by restoring funding opportunities for child care education.”

Health Minister François Brown, who promised special meetings in the spring in the face of the pediatric crisis, will set up a special committee on Dec. 7 to prepare for the deadline, co-chaired by former Secretary of State Adrian Taquet. The ministry announced this on Tuesday.