French health official quits

[DinoDoc]

PARIS (AP)- A senior health official resigned Monday after France's health minister admitted that up to 5,000 people, many of them elderly and alone, might have died in the heat wave, almost twice as many as previously estimated. The government and opposition traded accusations over who is to blame.

The departure of Lucien Abenhaim, director general of health, was expected to increase pressure for beleaguered Health Minister Jean-Francois Mattei to resign.

For days, French newspapers have questioned the authorities' response and asked why hospitals overflowed with victims as temperatures exceeded 104 degrees.

The left-leaning daily Liberation claimed Monday that the center-right government had not responded properly. Le Parisien topped its front page with the headline "Murderous Heat Wave: What didn't work."

Mattei's ministry previously had estimated that 1,600 to 3,000 people died from heat-related causes starting Aug. 7, most of them elderly. Many of the deaths resulted from dehydration or heat stroke, doctors said.

Opposition politicians insist that the government did not react quickly enough. One top Socialist lawmaker said he believed Mattei should resign.

But lawmakers from the ruling UMP coalition have blamed a law enacted by the previous Socialist government that limited France's working week to 35 hours. That law, combined with the August holidays, left medical centers and hospitals short-staffed, critics allege.

1) What could the government have done differently that would have muted this criticism before hand?

2) Is there any truth to the assertion by the UMP coalition at the end of the article?

[Dis]

dehydration?

What is the goverment to do? force water down people's throat. Though maybe they should have had some public service announcements urging people to drink lots of water.

AS for the heat stroke, well they should have opened air conditioned shelters for the elderly.

[Japher]

1) What could the government have done differently that would have muted this criticism before hand?

Nothing, what should they have done while it was occuring - Public Service Announcements telling people to stay in the shade, avoid moving as much as possible, and drinking plenty of water...

2) Is there any truth to the assertion by the UMP coalition at the end of the article?

No their is not truth to that claim... though it is like a liberal to want to work only 35 hours... Honestly, the problem wasn't so much that too many people need help at the hospital, the problem was that there were too many people going to the hospital. Address the solution not the problem dill-holes! Heck, I am sure half the ppl who died never even made it to the hospital. The last time I had a heat stroke I was unconsious...

[Spiffor]

This is a petty politician struggle over the heat wave tragedy.

During the whole crisis, the left has consistently scored cheap points on the right wing government. The government sure could have done better, but the pettiness of the fight was astonishing; we could almost hear the left blame the government for the heatwave

The problem was indeed that the heatwave struck right during the great vacation. Many doctors and nurses weren't serving, and all politicians were away from their Parisian office. That's why the reaction was slower as what it would have been in a normal period, and that's why the health system was insufficient to deal with the situation.

In the end, the health minister started the "Plan Blanc" which recalls all hospital doctors and nurses to their posts IIUC. This boosted the staff quite a bit, but the decision was taken too late. I don't think we should blame the minister for this, but rather the circumstances.

The deal about the 35 hours law is a cheap shot from the right against the left. The 35 hours law didn't reduce the medical staff, since it has been widely screwed anyways, and the little reduction of working time had been compensated by hiring more staff (especially slave students)

[Chemical Ollie]

French health official quits

He couldn't take the heat?

[Spiffor]

However, the government and the other political authorities (cities) could have done a few things :
- free distribution of water in the areas where the water was considered bad for consumption because of the drought (this may have happened)
- Announcements to go to the next airconditioned public building. More announcements in general to keep a good health in heatwave circumstances.

Other than that, not much could hjave been done, sadly

[DanS]

As I understand it, France doesn't have much air conditioning? If this is so, a lot of old people will die in heat waves such as this. Unfortunate, but a fact of life nonetheless. You can do small things to help, but as I understand it, this kind of heat wave doesn't happen too often in France.

I seem to remember over 1,000 dieing in Philadelphia (?) in a heat wave a couple of years ago. The gov't changed some things, but there's only so many things you can do. The US averages heat-wave related deaths of about 1,000 a year.

[SlowwHand]

What can one expect from the dumbass French?
The health official behaved in a manner consistent with French ideals.
He quit. At least he started.

[DanS]

I don't know why the official quit. It wasn't his fault.

[Spiffor]

Originally posted by DanS
As I understand it, France doesn't have much air conditioning?

Indeed. Air Conditioning is very nearly inexitent in private homes (never seen any, yet I've seen quite a few very wealthy homes) and rare in shops or cafés. Bigger stores or supermarkets generally have them though, as well as important public buildings.
Southern France is quite better prepared, since there are many more hot days a year there.

BTW, it was the city of Nantes that was the worst off with the heatwave. Britanny (to which Nantes geographically belongs) has a strongly oceanic climate, with small temperature variations in general. This year, it was exceptionally as hot in Britanny as anywhere else, which surprised the region completely.

[Bereta_Eder]

At least he had the decency to quit

[Spiffor]

Originally posted by DanS
I don't know why the official quit. It wasn't his fault.

According to L'Humanité, the official quit because someone had to pay for the failures. This theory, while it should be taken with caution, is sound: it is a political tradition in France to have some underdog quit, for the overdog to get fewer pressure, and to atone for his sins. It's a tad similar to what happened to the CIA boss in the US, except that this official hasn't been made a scapegoat.

It is also possible this guy considered quitting for some time now, and did it when he'd get most media attention (I've never heard of him before)

[DinoDoc]

Originally posted by Spiffor
- free distribution of water in the areas where the water was considered bad for consumption because of the drought (this may have happened)

Is France's water system that bad?

[VetLegion]

The awsome power of statistics..

[Spiffor]

Originally posted by DinoDoc
Is France's water system that bad?

No, tap water is available evrywhere, and it is drinkable almost anywhere at almost anytime of the year. Howver, a few agricultural regions (especially Britanny) sometimes have undrikable tap water because of high nitrates of farming origin. Besides, in some areas, the drought can terribly restrict the amount of water available (I encountered this situation during my Corsican vacation).

Otherwise, I'd have no problem with French tap water. I drink it all the time without problems.