Emmanuel Macron has announced that he wants to experiment with a single platform bringing together calls to emergency numbers for two years.
A single platform to centralize emergency calls. Present at the National Congress of Firefighters in Marseille on October 16, Emmanuel Macron announced several measures to improve “taking care of victims”, including the implementation of this famous platform. Like the 112 bringing together calls to the police, the gendarmerie, the fire brigade and the Samu for several European countries, this platform will aim to bring together the 15th, 17th and 18th. Behind this measure, a will “to have a united France, to have firefighters, caregivers, emergency physicians who work hand in hand for the efficiency of our territories,” argued the President of the Republic in his speech published by the Elysee.
At the heart of discussions for a long time, the single emergency number should see the light of day in 2022 and for two years. This experimentation will take place in a sort of “large region” which has yet to be defined. “Three types of platforms bringing together, according to various methods, emergency number and permanence of care” will be tested, detailed Emmanuel Macron. At the end of the experiment, “response time, quality of support for users, support for victims, taking a first call for noise reduction and switching to a platform for sending resources” will be evaluated to determine the most effective solution. The President does not rule out the development of a new solution resulting from the implementation of this system.
Relief for firefighters, fear of emergency responders
As recalled by Emmanuel Macron, the issue of the single emergency number is a recurring theme in discussions between the firefighters and the government. If the announcement of the single platform should relieve firefighters overwhelmed with calls, emergency responders are more skeptical.
François Braun, president of the Samu Urgences de France union, regretted October 16 in The Parisian the lack of consideration for certain specificities. “112 sounds simple, but it’s simplistic,” he assured. Before concluding, : “The fact that it’s simplistic doesn’t solve the problems and doesn’t say how the stroke is going in the right course of care, nor the call for a suicide attempt.”
Article written in collaboration with 6Medias