An epidemic at a very high level and staff in difficulty. The saturation of pediatric resuscitation services in hospitals in the Ile-de-France region, while an epidemic of bronchiolitis has been raging since the beginning of October, has already forced the establishments to transfer 28 children to resuscitation services in other regions, indicated on Monday the Regional Agency for Ile-de-France health.
The region “has been in the epidemic phase of bronchiolitis since October 3. There has been a marked increase in visits to the emergency room of children for three weeks”, indicates the ARS, specifying “that to date, in Île-de-France, 28 transfers to pediatric intensive care have been carried out to other regions. “.
“Each winter, pediatric facilities in the region face stress due to winter epidemics, particularly with bronchiolitis. This year, this period coincides with a difficult context generated by tensions on human resources in health ”, explains the agency, which underlines that the number of beds is lower than what it was in 2021.
Bronchiolitis: 27% of children going to the emergency room are hospitalized
“Currently, 27.5% of visits to the emergency room for bronchiolitis in children under 2 years of age are followed by hospitalization”, according to the ARS. This epidemic of bronchiolitis, early this year like last year, is combined with difficulties in recruiting caregivers, in particular nurses, in the pediatric departments.
On October 22, in Le Parisien Today in France, a group of 7,000 pediatric caregivers sent an open letter to Emmanuel Macron to deplore unsuitable working conditions and care, the results of “irresponsible political inaction “.
In response to this cry of alarm, the Minister of Health, François Braun, announced the establishment of an “immediate action plan” and the release of 150 million euros for “services under the hospital”, and promised the organization in the spring of “assizes of pediatrics”.
“Inadequate” and “cynical” measures according to the Pediatrics collective, which announced that it would go to the Elysée on November 2 to deliver a letter to the Head of State. The ARS explained that it had drawn up “an action plan to prepare the winter system and support the hospital teams”, in particular by opening the Regional Bronchiolitis Support Cell (CRAB) to seek places for the sick.