Overcrowded hospital in Strasbourg treating patients in parking lot

by Tugba Altun and Esra Taskin

PARIS/ANKARA (AA) — Patients in Strasbourg, France are receiving treatment in a hospital's parking due to a lack of space inside, local media reported.

Union footage aired by broadcaster TF1 showed patients waiting in ambulances or fire trucks in the parking area of a hospital on Monday.

Ambulances stalled for 24 hours in front of the emergency entrance due to insufficient hospital beds, according to the news report, which added that the unions were raising concerns on the growing crisis of the overcrowded emergency wing.

A member of the Nursing and FO Union, Christ Prud'Homme, said that in some situations, doctors had to leave the emergency wing and treat patients inside the ambulance because a patients condition had become critical.

"We find ourselves in an area where 10-12 ambulances are waiting, and the reason is the insufficient number of beds and staff inside," said Cedric Hatzenberger, a firefighter and member of the FO Union.

"When you arrive at the hospital, they tell you, you'll have to wait for one or two hours because it's just a broken foot. There are people with more serious conditions," commented paramedic Gilles Thiam.

The news report highlighted an investigation into two unexpected deaths that occurred at the hospital and noted a case in September 2022, when an 81-year-old man died after waiting over 20 hours on a stretcher.