A wind of panic blew through the operating room of the European Hospital Georges-Pompidou in Paris this Wednesday, October 1. Even before it began, the usually carefully structured day of the surgeons and nurses assisting them spiraled out of control. The team counted, without believing it. “All our temporary workers canceling their mission at the last minuterecalled a nurse from AP-HP, which unites 38 hospitals in Paris and Ile-de-France. We had not been warned beforehand. The day before, all the lights were green. We set up an emergency unit to find out who was there or not, we counted the numbers room by room.” The decision was a major disaster for hospital staff, and caused anxiety for patients and their families. There is a shortage of at least three-quarters of paramedics. Under these conditions, it is impossible to operate with complete safety. Decisions are made to prioritize interventions, postpone interventions that can be postponed, and close rooms.
Georges-Pompidou hospital is not the only one
