In Nancy, the children’s hospital, under tension, faces an epidemic of “early” and “intense” bronchiolitis

By Delphine Roucaute

Posted today at 11:30 a.m., updated at 11:38 a.m.

A few meters from the imposing bar seventies at the CHRU Brabois, in the southern suburbs of Nancy, the children’s hospital is emerging from the freezing light rain in mid-November. At the entrance to pediatric emergencies, only a few multicolored soft toys hanging from the trees remind us that the place is dedicated to welcoming 0 to 18 year olds. The Grand-Est region has been in the epidemic phase for bronchiolitis for a long month, but it is nevertheless an impression of calm which dominates in the green, blue and orange corridors where one spontaneously lowers the volume of his voice. It’s hard to imagine that the 83 beds in the structure are almost all occupied.

This Monday noon, only one child is waiting and the care provided mainly concerns everyday injuries. “In emergencies, the peak is rather around 7 pm to 9 pm”, remarks Delphine Banton, the manager of the service, responsible for organizing the work of the paramedical team and managing the availability of beds in this “Hospital within hospital”. If the Covid-19 caused a drop in activity of 30% in 2020, the usual rate of 70 passages per day was quickly established again, to accelerate with the return of winter pathologies such as gastroenteritis , colds, asthma and especially bronchiolitis.

This year, the epidemic struck particularly early and hard in this region, worrying hospital services from October, while alerts usually come in December. The All Saints’ Day holidays have brought a short respite but, already, we have recorded up to 90 visits per day, all pathologies combined. “We come back to waiting times of six hours sometimes for non-priority patients, which is comparable to what we see in the adult centers of the CHU, while the average time in pediatrics is rather two and a half hours. “, observes Delphine Banton.

Olympe Neyhouser, internal doctor and Ludivine Rharus, student, at the post-emergency polyvalent pediatric unit (UPUP) at the CHRU of Nancy, November 15, 2021.

In this jump-off period for bronchiolitis, teams prepare to ramp up. “We are used to managing this saturation situation every winter, but that does not mean that we are equipped for”, warns Cyril Schweitzer, director of the children and neonatal unit at the CHU. In pediatrics, activity varies from single to double between summer and winter. And like “The CV box is empty”, it is necessary to operate at a constant workforce and above all to play on overtime. “In winter, we demand an effort for three months from the team and the hours are returned in summer, which generally corresponds to a week of leave”, underlines Valérie Ratajczak, executive of the neonatal child center.

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