this hospital is raising a cry of alarm in the face of a very violent third wave of Coronavirus

This April 14, 2021, the newspaper The world takes an interest in the daily life of the Parisian hospital Bichat. And this establishment has as many Covid-19 patients as at the start of the health crisis 1 year ago, which leads to superhuman work for the teams. This third wave already has 5,705 patients in intensive care, including more than 1,700 in Île-de-France. “We do everything for everyone, but there are many, many, deaths. As soon as a patient dies, we barely have time to think that another is already taking his place. robots “, explains Kumarini Fauquet, nursing assistant for twenty years. Out of five patients in her care, four are on ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation), “never seen” for the world. And nearly 40% of these people on ECMO do not “do not pass the course”.

“There is no question of ‘sorting’ the sick, and having to choose between two people waiting in the hallway.”

Despite the growing number of patients requiring intubation and ventilation, “no question of ‘sorting’ the sick, and having to choose between two people waiting in the corridor”, says Jean-François Timsit, head of the medical and infectious resuscitation service, who testifies to the newspaper his concern about “degraded”. “We will intubate both, by managing to get another patient out more quickly, or by leaving a somewhat borderline patient in another department”, he reports.

All members of the medical profession agree on “their lives turned upside down, with its retinue of guards and overtime”, can we read in the report. Caregivers must also have discussions with families who have lost a loved one to learn about the contagiousness of bodies. Yannick Tolila-Huet, head of the death chamber, who says “angry with the whole world”, wonders: “Some people assure us that the symptoms started more than ten days ago, but do not have a PCR test to show it. Who to believe?”

Deadly virus, but still no awareness?

Specialists no longer even have the opportunity to do their job. “I don’t even have the time to do my job as an anesthetist any more, except during my shifts!”, spear Aurélie Gouel. “For anesthesiologists, it’s a permanent cinema, declares Philippe Montravers, head of the anesthesia-intensive care unit. So when the President of the Republic explains to us that we have to make an effort, I feel abandoned. ” The most serious for doctors and nurses are the patient’s little sentences, which show that some French people still do not see the risks of the coronavirus and the importance of vaccination. “In consultation, a patient whom I encouraged to be vaccinated answered me: you know, there were not enough deaths, people do not feel concerned”, testifies Camille Taillé, pulmonologist.

The milestone of 100,000 deaths has now been crossed in France. The latest data from Public health France of Wednesday, April 14, 2021 recorded 43,505 new cases of Covid-19 and 5,902 patients in intensive care. And the number of admissions of 15-44 year olds to hospital services is on the rise. According to the agency, “these results suggest an average increase in the severity of cases in patients aged 15 to 64 years, more marked in young adults“.