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While the number of daily new infections is on the rise in the Kingdom, hospitals in Morocco are starting to become overwhelmed. In Marrakech, the Mohammed VI University Hospital, also referred to as CHU, is making headlines.
Several news articles reported that the hospital and its medical staff are in a difficult situation. Indeed, trade unionists revealed that about thirty confirmed cases were recorded among health workers at CHU.
Contacted by Yabiladi on Thursday, Imad Soussou, vice-president of the FNS-UMT trade union at the Mohammed VI University Hospital in Marrakech, spoke about the current situation of the facility in recent days, which led to an increase in coronavirus cases among health workers.
The worrying situation of the CHU
«There are no barrier measures applied at the CHU. When a patient or anyone goes to the emergency room, there is also no sorting or orientation, social distancing and no body temperature measuring», he denounced.
«You can have your temperature measured at a shop or a shopping mall but not at the CHU», he regretted. Similarly, the facility is suffering from shortages, according to Soussou, who refers to «means to disinfect equipment in emergency rooms and departments».
«When a patient is in a feverish state, we do not have an isolation unit where we can put them before confirming their infection. As a result, the patient gets in contact with other patients in the emergency room and in various departments», regrets a doctor from CHU, who preferred to remain anonymous. «In my department, there are no people responsible for sterilizing the equipment. It is the doctors themselves who do it, and they often forget to», he revealed.
«We are wondering whether the management of the CHU is aware of what is happening. No manager visited me in my department in charge of Covid-positive cases to inquire about the situation there», he added.
Coronavirus cases among health workers
For her part, a nurse working at the CHU in Marrakech confirmed, half-heartedly, the failure noted by her colleague. «There are cases tested positive among the personnel of the emergency department at the CHU», she blurted, without giving more details.
Other factors seem to have aggravated this situation. For Imad Soussou, the trade union office noted in particular «the absence of a scientific commission and a clear strategy» or even «watchdog committees that exist in companies but not at the CHU».
«They declare a CHU hospital as being reserved for Covid-positive cases, before considering it later as no longer part of the facilities dedicated to these cases. Does it make sense to maintain this distinction ? To us, any case is suspected of being a Covid-positive until proven infected», he added. «So-called non-Covid hospitals do not benefit from equipment to protect the staff», he added.
«The hospital staff working in the Covid units are tired and have been working continuously since February. There is no rotation system or human resources management, because the CHU is unable to manage this issue. We are exhausted and we are heading straight into the wall».
The trade unionist finally claims to have «denounced this situation on many occasions, by sending letters to the management of the CHU and those in charge, but nothing has changed». «We are afraid that the CHU will turn into a coronavirus hotspot, with healthy patients who may get out of it with a Covid-19 infection», he warned. A situation that occurred, moreover, in Fez, with more than 60 infections among the staff of the city’s university hospital.
Contacted by Yabiladi on Thursday, the communication department at the Marrakech University Hospital said that they cannot comment on the reported number of coronavirus cases among the hospital’s medical staff.
As for the absence of physical distancing measures and means of protection, such as hydroalcoholic gels and soap, the same source said that these claims are «outdated». «We are in a critical state in Morocco. This remains valid for all other hospitals», the same source added.
Wednesday, in a press release citing 118 Covid-19 infections among their ranks, the Movement of Nurses and Health Technicians in Morocco (MITSAM) reported, for its part, that «15 multi-skilled nurses, 4 midwives, 3 nurses anesthetists and two health technicians» in Marrakech have been infected with the coronavirus since the start of this pandemic.
