As every year, to deal with accidents related to mountain climbing, the Chamonix Hospital is opening a seasonal unscheduled care center.
Managed by the Hospitals of the Mont-Blanc region, the Chamonix Emergencies will be active from Saturday 9 July to Sunday 28 August, every day, from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.
The operation of these emergencies, open from the Climbing World Cup to the end of the Mont-Blanc Ultra Trail, makes it possible to better manage the influx of patients generated by tourist visits and to supplement town medicine, to avoid saturation.
About 50% of consultations concern foreign patients
According to Le Dauphine, the medical platform allows the consultation of simple pathologies on site. General medical consultations are provided by a doctor and two nurses who must speak English.
Half of the consultations concern foreign patients. A local peculiarity which is added to that of having to manage the helicopter landing area, transporting patients throughout the day. "The medical staff assigned to Chamonix therefore always display a certain experience", indicates the management of the Pays du Mont-Blanc Hospitals.
But if the hospitals of Sallanches and Chamonix work together, they are above all complementary. Thus, a patient who requires biological examinations, a scanner or hospitalization will not stop in Chamonix, but will be transferred for better care.
Emergencies are not automatic
In high season, the emergency services in Chamonix receive an average of forty patients per day, while the emergency services in Sallanches can count up to 150 visits in the middle of summer.
The Pays du Mont-Blanc Hospitals invite everyone not to automatically go to the Chamonix urgent care center in order to avoid overcrowding in the emergency room and therefore long waiting times. For this, any potential patient is invited to first contact their doctor or a general practitioner on call.
Source: @Le Dauphiné Libéré
