The surroundings of the Médipôle, the large ultra-modern hospital in Noumea, have returned to a normal appearance. The hot spot of the spring insurrection, surrounded by independence roadblocks, had taken on the appearance of a besieged fortress, while rioters who had been burned, and police officers shot down and wounded on both sides flocked to the emergency room. If the dialysis center building, attacked in the early hours of May 13, is still out of use and two damaged vehicles are still parked, isolated, in nearby parking lots, access no longer has problems.
But the crisis is far from having finished producing its effects behind the walls of the hospital center. The Médipôle, in which the minister responsible for the overseas territories, François-Noël Buffet, completed his four-day trip to New Caledonia on Saturday, October 19, is facing a hemorrhage of caregivers from which it may not recover .
In the dialysis department, Dr. Nicolás Quirin was waiting for a substitute doctor who did not want to come, and an assistant who was supposed to join the team withdrew. Support capacity has fallen by almost 60%. “In some departments the team held, in others it collapsed”comments the doctor.
Vacancies
The neurology department lost two out of five doctors. Five of the ten gynecologists have left and the guards they provided to support the dispensaries in the north of the territory can no longer provide as before. In oncology, even worse, the three doctors have packed their bags.
Pulmonology has been reduced to a small space, and the visiting minister occupies a hallway completely empty of his activity. The service now only has two doctors out of six; It closed eighteen beds in June. “We have difficulties monitoring patients. And we are increasingly facing more medico-legal problems. Fortunately here people are not very argumentative”says Dr. Cristian Boboc.
At the hospital level, many of the “metropolitan” staff, who make up a quarter of the medical workforce, may want to leave. “Some are looking to sell their home. Most departures will occur before July, for the start of the school year in September. We fear this period”underlines the president of the center’s medical commission, Dr. Thierry de Greslan. “We must regret what happened. The denial is over, what remains is anger and sadness. » According to this professional, “If the departures reach 25% of the staff, the situation could change and the hospital could collapse. We are already seeing absenteeism increase”.
You have 50.27% of this article left to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.
