The Escrim field hospital opened on the morning of December 24. Sdis Gard – Sdis Gard
L’Escrim a déployé son hôpital sur le stade de football. Sdis – Sdis
Based in Nîmes, the Escrim field hospital has been open since December 24 in Mayotte. Firefighters from Gard and Var, doctors and caregivers have already received more than 1,300 patients. Lieutenant Colonel Jacques Pagès (Sdis mission leader) gives his testimony.
Based in Nîmes, the Escrim field hospital has been operational since the morning of December 24 in Mayotte. The transfer was complicated ?
We need significant logistics. We still have more than 300 m3 of material to transport. Paris provided us with a very large carrier (Airbus 400M). It took us four rotations to get to Mayotte. It was a huge job to transport all that from Petite Terre to Grande Terre and then to Mamoudzou. We discovered a devastated territory. There were 50 rotations of trucks. We set up at the football stadium (Editor's note: the Cavani stadium), near the Mayotte hospital center. The installation conditions are perfect. We managed to keep to what was planned. The field hospital has been open since the morning of December 24.
In what conditions do you work?
200% Deposit Bonus up to €3,000 180% First Deposit Bonus up to $20,000It's very… very hot. We have equipment that can't operate above 30 degrees. We've managed to moderate all that. We have air conditioners. As soon as the hospital opened, there was a huge influx of people. 250 people per day. We set up a sorting system at the entrance to the stadium to direct patients. We're managing to channel this influx. To date (this Monday, December 30), we have more than 1,300 patients.
What do the people you receive and treat tell you?
They are relieved and tell us: “Finally, we are being taken care of”. We have set up a quality hospital. Private ambulances, firefighters bring us patients. There are residents who arrive with injuries that are not treated or poorly treated, with nasty wounds. These injuries may require a trip to the operating room. There are also abscesses, infections. And then there are all these residents who are not receiving care at the hospital because they could not go there. There are also many women in labor.
Do you feel pressure when you see this crowd from 7 o'clock onwards? ?
From 7 o'clock onwards, 150 people are there. We were highly anticipated. We have to sort, to take emergencies as a priority. But all these residents are very grateful. There is the local hospital that cooperates with us and refers patients to us. This hospital was also hit by the cyclone. Pieces of roof were torn off. There is work to be done. And the staff is very tired. We are here to provide service to the population and we coordinate with the Mayotte hospital center.
We receive the population of poor and disadvantaged bangas who do not have access to care or do not dare to go to the hospital, many children and women, migrants who do not have papers. Once the worry and hesitation have passed, they come to us. We are here to treat everyone. They were the most affected by this cyclone. There is also the problem of water supply, electricity. The vegetation has been completely destroyed. An impressive number of trees have been uprooted. The bangas have been completely razed. And now they are rebuilding them.
The arrival of a replacement of firefighters and caregivers has been announced ?
47 caregivers and firefighters arrived today (this Monday, December 30). We are going to do the overlap with them. We are replacing post by post. So that there is continuity of service. These firefighters and caregivers are volunteers and have a job in France. Doctors and surgeons, for example, work in clinics or hospitals.
90 professional or volunteer firefighters from Gard, Var and other departments, logisticians and caregivers (surgeon, midwife, nurse, anesthesiologist and radiographer) are mobilized for this projection, in Mayotte, of the Escrim field hospital (Rapid Civil Security Medical Intervention Unit) based in Nîmes. In 2023, the field hospital had been deployed in Libya and Turkey.