The Union of Obstetricians-Gynecologists of France (Syngof) is sounding the alarm. The shortage of caregivers “reaches a critical level” in maternity wards, posing a risk of “unexpected summer closures”, he said in a statement on Tuesday. “The accident is imminent,” he continues. One month before the holidays, the main union of gynecologists in France is concerned about the lack of doctors – including pediatricians and anesthesiologists – as well as midwives, which “reaches a critical level which endangers women”.
Caregivers who “deserte the birth rooms”
“Perinatality is in great pain”, with caregivers who “get discouraged” and “deserte the birth rooms”, adds the union, considering that “the bleeding is not about to dry up” because “the signals sent by the public authorities “are not encouraging”. As proof, Syngof cites the Brittany regional health agency (ARS), which has ordered its hospitals and clinics to “regularly send” it before the summer “the planned bed closures (and) the business continuity plan (with) an increased focus on emergency and maternity services”.
Decrying this “administrative governance”, the union judges that “only fair recognition (…) of all caregivers will solve” the problem and “avoid unexpected summer closures of maternity wards”, or “worse, permanent closures after serious accident”. The subject affects other regions, such as Ile-de-France, where the ARS anticipates a “tense, even very tense” summer, in particular in maternity wards where “there are a little more difficulties in general” , according to its director Amélie Verdier, who has “triggered actions with liberal midwives to see how they can come in a reinforced way in the establishments”.