“Very intense” flu epidemic: emergency rooms in “surge”, serious health-related events on the rise

The Samu-Urgences union warned this Thursday about the "dangerousness" of the situation in emergency rooms, put under "overload" by the flu epidemic. 30% of establishments claim to have reported serious adverse events related to care (SAEs).

The flu epidemic was still very intense in the second week of January, according to the bulletin from Santé publique France, published on Wednesday, January 15. As in the previous week, the level of intensity was high in all age groups. “The share of hospitalizations for influenza/influenza-like illness among all-cause hospitalizations was still at a very high level of intensity in all age groups,” notes Santé publique France.

A sharp increase was also reported in medical-social establishments and the share of deaths linked to influenza (according to electronic certificates) reached 7.3% of deaths. At 6% the previous week, the figure already exceeded the peaks of the three flu epidemics of previous seasons.

Pressure on the hospital

According to a survey by the Samu-Urgences union, conducted among 6 private establishments and 126 public establishments, this pressure exerted on the hospital has led to serious events. 39 establishments, or 30% of the establishments concerned by the survey, claim to have reported serious adverse events linked to care. The EIGS has thus been defined by the health authorities: “a serious adverse event associated with care (EIGS) is an unexpected event with regard to the state of health and the pathology of the person and whose consequences are death, life-threatening prognosis, the probable occurrence of a permanent functional deficit, including an anomaly or congenital malformation”. The union highlights the dangerousness of the situation, the overstrain of emergency services and the deterioration in the quality and safety of care.

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Thus, according to this same flash survey, 85% of the establishments that participated activated the plan “Hospital under pressure”, 37% the white plan – and 9% are preparing to trigger it.

Patients on stretchers are blocking the corridors

The cause ? 90% of respondents warn of the saturation of the downstream emergency services – where unscheduled patients who require hospitalization only stay a few days, 79% of the increased epidemic activity and 69% of the massive influx of patients to the emergency room.

Failing downstream emergency services and massive influx to the emergency room have had direct consequences on the care of patients in the departments emergency. “93% of emergency departments have seen a significant increase in the number of 'stretcher patients' waiting for a hospital bed in the morning, 45% of which have increased by more than 50%. The length of stay in emergency departments has increased by an average of more than 30%, with the impacts on morbidity and mortality now known to all”, notes the survey.

Lack of anticipation

For the union, although the flu epidemic is intense, it remains contained. It denounces a lack of anticipation by the health authorities. “The population's healthcare needs in terms of recourse to outpatient care and hospitalization capacity are easily scalable from data from previous years, and should be part of a forecast plan to respond to these situations.” Samu-Urgences is calling for the creation of additional places in hospitals and in medical and rehabilitation care (in order to free up hospital beds), as well as more outpatient care offers, particularly in community medicine.

As a reminder, in 2024, the waiting time to get an appointment with a general practitioner will be 10 days on average in 2024, compared to 4 days in 2019, according to the access to care barometer of the Fédération hospitalière de France.

*Flash survey conducted by Samu-Urgences de France from January 9 to 12, 2025 among 6 private establishments and 126 public establishments authorized for emergency medicine over the period from December 20, 22024 to January 12, 2025