In Remiremont, the ghosts and pain of the public hospital

When did Christiane L. die on November 19, 2022 in the Remiremont hospital (Vosges)? The answers vary regarding the documents in the possession of his daughter Karen L. (who wished to remain anonymous). The facility’s medical certificate states: 8:12 p.m.; the official death certificate, 10 p.m. In the space of that hour and forty-eight minutes, an abyss of doubt and suffering opened up for Karen L. and a space of severe grief for this 34-year-old territorial official. “At 8:28 p.m. my mom texted my sister, she says in a brasserie in Epinal. According to the medical certificate, her resuscitation would have started at 6:52 p.m., but I was ahead of her at that time. It’s incredible. »

That morning, a few days after seeing her doctor about chest pain, Christiane L. woke up coughing up blood. The resident of Remiremont goes to the municipal hospital, where the emergency room receives her. A blood test indicates a possible pulmonary embolism. “When we see her in her room at the end of the afternoon, I find her pale and panickedremembers Karen L. She tells me that things are bad, that she is afraid of dying. A nurse makes it clear to me that this is serious. »

But at the beginning of the evening comes the surprise: When Karen L. comes home, she receives a call from her mother telling her that she is going out. A doctor diagnosed him with a simple illness “Cough”. Karen L. will go to bed feeling calm. Waking up at night is brutal: She sees missed calls on her phone screen. His mother suffered cardiac arrest in the emergency room.

Remiremont Hospital (Vosges) on February 1, 2024. The hospital's emergency room has stopped night operations since the beginning of the year. — Remiremont Hospital (Vosges) on February 1, 2024. The hospital’s emergency room has stopped night operations since the beginning of the year.

Administrative elements of the investigation file into the death of Christiane L. (Karen L.'s mother) in Remiremont Hospital. February 1, 2024. — Administrative elements of the investigation file into the death of Christiane L. (Karen L.’s mother) in Remiremont Hospital. February 1, 2024.

Because her daughter Christiane L., who was 69 years old at the time of her death and had no serious medical history other than high blood pressure, should never have died that evening. “My mother was a force of nature. She went hiking and still went clubbing with her friends. » Karen L. was initially in shock and took the time to analyze the elements available to her. Timing discrepancies, the absence, according to the medical certificate, of “Chest Pain”, that she judges “incredible”, or this display on one’s scanner “Left decompensation”, a sign of imminent danger of a heart attack… Her mother received poor care at Remiremont Hospital. She therefore decided in February 2023 to file a complaint for “negligent homicide”.

“Lack of humanity”

She’s not the only one in this situation. For a year and a half an avalanche of complaints – more than a dozen – was imposed on the facility for the same reason for “accidental injury” or for “endangering the lives of others.” The prosecutor of Epinal, who did not answer World, considered the matter serious enough to open a judicial investigation, entrusted to three judges with the assistance of the Nancy criminal police. It is up to them to answer a series of thorny questions: What part of this multitude of individual cases was the inevitable, the tragic? And that because of carelessness, mistakes or incompetence? Is this an extreme example of the disorganization and impoverishment of the public hospital?

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