Half of the patients who visited an emergency department in 2023 stayed there for more than 3 hours, compared to 2 hours and 15 minutes in 2013, according to this barometer. The study also shows a significant increase in people coming to the emergency department because they couldn't find an appointment elsewhere: 21% of patients cited this type of problem to explain their visit in 2023, compared to 13% in 2013.
The barometer is constructed from the study of an average day in the 719 emergency services in France (in this case for 2023 Tuesday June 13), from 8:00 a.m. in the morning to 8:00 a.m. the following morning, compared to an average day ten years earlier.
"The increase is general"
Overall, “The length of time spent in emergency rooms varies greatly depending on the patient’s journey, but the increase is general.”, indicated the Drees in a press release. For the approximately 80% patients who returned home at the end of their stay, the median duration was more than 2 hours 30 minutes, or 40 minutes more than in 2013.
For the 11% patients who went directly from the emergency department to another department, the median time was 5 hours 20 minutes, or 1 hour and 25 minutes longer than in 2013. And for the 5% patients who passed through a short-stay hospitalization unit attached to the emergency department (UHCD), the median time increased to 14 hours 50 minutes, or 2 hours 20 minutes longer than in 2013.
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"In ten years, the number of full hospitalization beds has in fact decreased by 11%"
People aged over 75 are particularly affected by these long transit times: 36% of them stayed there for more than 8 hours, compared to 15% for the general population. Furthermore, “Hospitalization after leaving the emergency room has decreased, both in number and proportion of patients”, notes the Drees.
“20% patients were transferred to UHCD or hospitalized in another department in 2023, compared to 23% in 2013”, she adds. This observed decline may be motivated by several factors, notes the Drees, which mentions “changes in medical practices, differences in the health status of patients, or reduced availability of beds following the continued decline in the full hospitalization capacity of health facilities.”
"In ten years, the number of full hospitalization beds has in fact decreased by 11%, or 43,000 fewer beds," recalls the Drees.
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