Mobilization to maintain the emergency department at the Bonnefon clinic

Several dozen people gathered in front of the doors of the Bonnefon clinic, this Tuesday at the end of the morning in Alès. They were mainly employees of the clinic, worried about the latest announcements on the future of the emergency department.

Since January, emergencies of this establishment are closed at night. On April 20, the management of the establishment, which belongs to the Elsan health group, announced, during an extraordinary social and economic committee, the definitive closure of the service on June 20. Before, a few days later, to explain having requested authorization from the ARS (Regional Health Agency), to keep them open during the day, at least until the fall. A petition has been open for several days to demand the maintenance of these long-term emergencies. To date, it has obtained more than 1,600 signatures.

The ARS calls for the opening of emergencies 24 hours a day

This Tuesday, the ARS officially ordered the clinic, “to do everything to ensure that its emergency reception service continues to operate 24 hours a day as the summer period approaches, and in particular at weekends. They make it possible to relieve those of the hospital center of Alès, which affect a basin of population going from the north of Gard, to the south of Lozère and Ardèche. “Failing to be able to meet this obligation, the Clinique Bonnefon is authorized to operate its emergency reception service during the day only”, resumes the ARS. And this “in a derogatory way (…), until August 31. However, the use of this derogation must remain an exception given the sustained activity throughout the summer of the Gard emergency services. »

The establishment mentions difficulties in finding staff to ensure the continuous operation of the service. The unions, for their part, denounce a search for profitability. Many elected officials are mobilizing to maintain these emergencies, in a sustainable way. “We need both the emergencies of the clinic and the hospital center in this basin of Alès, underlines Christophe Rivenq, the president (LR) of the agglomeration of Alès. In a few days, I expect commitments from emergency doctors ready to come and reinforce these emergencies. I know that some of them are available for sessions at the Bonnefon clinic. I believe I can say with sufficient certainty that the emergencies of Bonnefon can live. It only remains for the leaders of the Elsan group to decide. »

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