Delays in ENT care for children - Findings and proposals
Seance of wednesday 28 february 2024 (Chirurgie pédiatrique)
DOI number : 10.26299/3kga-e390/emem.2024.07.05
Abstract
Work to implement the regulations on the technical operating conditions for pediatric surgical care activities, and the publication at the same time of guidelines for professional practice in pediatric anesthesia by the SFAR, have led to the disengagement of teams performing ENT surgery on children, mainly in local centers, with either a reduction in activity, or a cessation of activity, with no possibility of caring for this population in a referral center (whose mission it is not), or in a specialized center to date.
The reasons for these decisions are numerous, with difficulties for implementing the organizational criteria advocated in the guideline, as well as problems of earnings for these procedures for the practitioners, and the prioritization of care by certain care structures to the detriment of pediatric ENT activity.
This is a real additional public health problem, with a forecast of over 10,000 children per year requiring an ENT procedure not taken in charge of in local centers. Treatment of obstructive sleep apnea syndromes or otitis pathologies with deafness are delayed, with repercussions on the child's development.
A moratorium on the application of the guidelines was decided by the SFAR until July 2024, but this moratorium has not been followed.
The CNP ORL&CCF, in partnership with other CNPs, has alerted the government to this major public health problem. The CNP for Pediatrics is also reporting worrying feedback.
We urgently need to do everything we can, through healthcare professionals and institutions the governmental mediation, to stop the destruction of the territorial network in the first instance, and to think about a timetable for implementing measures to improve child care, without interfering with the quality of care for children while the new organizations are being put in place.
The reasons for these decisions are numerous, with difficulties for implementing the organizational criteria advocated in the guideline, as well as problems of earnings for these procedures for the practitioners, and the prioritization of care by certain care structures to the detriment of pediatric ENT activity.
This is a real additional public health problem, with a forecast of over 10,000 children per year requiring an ENT procedure not taken in charge of in local centers. Treatment of obstructive sleep apnea syndromes or otitis pathologies with deafness are delayed, with repercussions on the child's development.
A moratorium on the application of the guidelines was decided by the SFAR until July 2024, but this moratorium has not been followed.
The CNP ORL&CCF, in partnership with other CNPs, has alerted the government to this major public health problem. The CNP for Pediatrics is also reporting worrying feedback.
We urgently need to do everything we can, through healthcare professionals and institutions the governmental mediation, to stop the destruction of the territorial network in the first instance, and to think about a timetable for implementing measures to improve child care, without interfering with the quality of care for children while the new organizations are being put in place.