Haut-Rhin. Emergency services in Mulhouse and Colmar have been overwhelmed for more than 48 hours.

Ninety-seven patients were present simultaneously in the emergency department of the Mulhouse and South Alsace Regional Hospital Group (GHRMSA) on Thursday, July 3 at 10 p.m. A total of 203 patients were treated on Friday, July 4, compared to a usual 24-hour average of 170 (+19%). And already nearly 70 patients were present at the same time in the department this Saturday, July 5, at 9 a.m.

On the phone this Saturday early afternoon, Dr. Marc Noizet, head of the GHRMSA emergency department, confirmed: "We have been experiencing major saturation of the service for over 48 hours." Nursing staff and nursing assistants were called in as reinforcements to the service this Saturday to cope.

At the emergency department of the Colmar Civil Hospitals, the situation is "roughly the same," said the head of department, Dr. Éric Thibaut, this Saturday evening. "In recent days, we have recorded 160 to 170 patients per day in the department and peaks of up to 65 patients present at the same time, for a capacity of 30 stretchers."

At this stage, the reasons for this influx are "not well understood," say emergency physicians. "The effects of the heatwave, particularly on the elderly, must be a contributing factor," they suggest, however. And there are not enough beds in other departments to hospitalize patients who need it, due to staff shortages. Pressure on hospital beds is even greater now, with the start of the summer and holiday season. "That's why people are stuck here for hours," and why emergency departments inevitably end up congested.

To avoid very long waiting times, linked to the saturation of services, Dr. Noizet recommends "not spontaneously going to the emergency room", but calling 15 which "will direct you to the most suitable place".