Covid hospitalisations in France in 2020: all that for this!

17/11/2021 · Marley R.

The ATIH, the technical agency for hospitalisation information in France, has published a summary “des prises en charges hospitalières de la COVID-19 en 2020” ^[1]. Explosive figures in light of the narrative. Without questioning the fact that hospitals were overloaded at certain times (epidemic peaks, geographical concentrations, longer hospitalisations), this analysis puts covid back into perspective in relation to other conditions and invites us to look at the phenomenon from a more rational angle, beyond the prism of fear.

The ATIH is a public State body responsible, among other things, for collecting and analysing data from health establishments throughout French territory. The report, recently published on its website, tells us that “covid patients account for 2% of all patients hospitalised during 2020, all hospital sectors combined” and that they “account for 5% of all patients treated in critical care services ^”. It is hard to believe, so low is the real proportion compared with what it is in the collective imagination!

A view out of step with reality

We had indeed imagined hospitals filled with covid patients during these two years, as the doctor Martin Blachier points out ^, on the set of “Ça vous regarde”. Yet on reading this report, one has to acknowledge that “it is still the other conditions that sent people to hospital, for the vast majority.”, and “that we had a view out of step with hospital reality”. Undoubtedly, these figures have the merit of taking a step back and, through the overall perspective they convey, of strongly qualifying the socially constructed representation of this virus resulting from its omnipresence in the media.

The straw that broke the camel's back

The ATIH nevertheless mentions in its summary that “the health crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic had a major impact on the activity of health establishments in 2020 ” ^. Besides the length of hospitalisations ^, the concentration over “a few weeks at the peak of the waves”, as Martin Blachier explains, must be taken into account, as must, no doubt, geographical concentrations.

For Marie Estelle Dupont, on the set of “l’heure des pros”, the essential element of context is “the elephant in the room that nobody wants to see”, namely the degraded state of hospitals before covid. “While we had this problem every winter, all we did was close beds.”.

On this point, the journalist Ivan Rioufol is indignant on the programme “les points sur les i”: “we realise that the State has intruded excessively into private lives but has neglected to take care of the public hospital; it is incomprehensible.” ^. Or perhaps it went about it the wrong way? Be that as it may, beyond this debate on the health of the hospital, one can only share Mr Blachier's dismay: “but the fact remains that over the whole year it is 2%”!

By Marley R., citizen journalist at BAM!

Sources:

Published on the ATIH website on 28/10/2021 in https://www.md-universal.eu/images/aah_2020_analyse_covid.pdf

Under the supervision of the ministers responsible for health, social affairs and social security https://www.atih.sante.fr/l-atih/presentation

p.4 in https://www.md-universal.eu/images/aah_2020_analyse_covid.pdf

Critical care includes resuscitation, intensive care and continuing care, p. 5 in https://www.md-universal.eu/images/aah_2020_analyse_covid.pdf

Martin Blachier is a French doctor with a strong media presence during the covid crisis. He is one of the managers of the consulting firm Public Health Expertise

Remarks taken from Martin Blachier's appearance on the programme “Ça vous regarde” on LCP -09/11/2021