Pediatrics staff have already alerted almost a month ago. This Wednesday, caregivers denounce in a column published in the World and signed by 10,000 of them, Emmanuel Macron’s “deafening silence” on the crisis experienced by pediatrics in the hospital. “A month later, we remain without a response from you: your silence is deafening”, castigate these staff, including 400 heads of departments and all learned pediatric societies.
On October 21, some 4,000 caregivers had challenged the President of the Republic in a letter published by the Parisian where they denounced the saturation of pediatric services with “children in daily danger” against the backdrop of an early epidemic of bronchiolitis. “The annual bronchiolitis epidemic has turned into a bad remake of the Covid-19 pandemic”, note the caregivers bitterly in their new forum, highlighting the same ailments, loss of meaning and lack of personnel.
“Temporary emergency measures”
“You did not appear to reassure parents, assure caregivers of your support and the desire to save the public hospital”, still reproach the signatories. “Instead, your government is piling up envelopes and temporary emergency measures over the course of the disaster, and questioning the unanimous findings of caregivers and patients”, they are annoyed, while the executive has promised 400 million euros of new measures to relieve the services concerned.
The future foundations of pediatrics and the installation of an ad hoc orientation committee on December 7 also did not have the good fortune to satisfy the 10,000 signatories.
“Will France be able to save its children? »
Faced with a situation which has further deteriorated compared to October, caregivers are calling on Emmanuel Macron, currently on a state visit to the United States, to make a personal commitment and to implement a battery of categorical measures.
Recognition of the specificity and expertise of paediatrics, cap on the number of patients per nurse, respect for rest periods and training times, better compensation for night and weekend work, measures targeting training young people engaged in care professions, etc. “The current crisis is pushing ever more resignations. Back to the wall, will France be able to save its children? conclude the caregivers.