COVID-19 crisis: International transfers of critical ill patients, a solution for border counties

Abstract

The COVID-19 health crisis has imposed an unprecedented adaptability of our health system. Intensive care units and emergency departments had to innovate and develop new strategies to guarantee quality care for patients needing intensive care. The “Grand-Est” region and particularly the counties of Moselle, Bas-Rhin and Haut-Rhin, were strongly impacted. Among the 349 patients transferred out of region, 164 were transferred to European countries (Austria, Germany, Luxembourg, and Switzerland) between March 14 and April 4, 2020. These international transfers, organized by the regional health agency and the emergency medical call centers, mainly use flying ambulances belonging to hospitals, army, and civil protection. The support of these patients was provided by a specialized physician-nurse team. The choice of this strategy made it possible to avoid saturation of intensive care units and to make a choice between patients admitted or not in intensive care. Adaptability of health care providers and an organization as close as possible to the field allowed these transfers to be carried out under good conditions. This episode demonstrates the importance of leaving the management of health crisis to health professionals. This article presents the organization set up to prepare and carry out these international transfers.