REPORTAGE – Being on call at the hospital means constantly having to make decisions about a diagnosis, care, treatment to be given… This is Dr Nicolas Winter’s daily bread.
Dr. Nicolas Winter methodically folds a sheet of paper and writes down useful information for the auscultation of Paola, 8 years old. The little girl and her dad have been waiting for four hours now in the pediatric emergency room of the Valenciennes hospital. The nurse on duty questioned the young patient who has fainted twice in recent days and scheduled the examinations to be carried out.
Paola will see the doctor, but she has to wait her turn: the order of attendance is the first decision to be made by the emergency team each time a patient presents. « A child in respiratory distress obviously passes in front of all ankle sprains », comments Dr. Winter.
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It’s nearly 11:30 a.m. on this clear December morning. Past the Scheldt river, at the end of a long avenue, the hospital center deploys its buildings, medical services, maternity, adult and child emergencies… The third health establishment in Hauts-de-France must meet the needs of the inhabitants of the Hainaut-Cambrésis regional hub, i.e. nearly 750,000 people. Suffice to say that pediatric emergencies, it is always full.
Today, three pediatricians are on duty. In addition to Nicolas Winter, doctors Aurélie Ley and Amélie Dupont.
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