Following the tragedy in Strépy-Bracquegnies, in addition to the six people who died, there were ten seriously injured and 27 slightly injured. They were treated in several hospitals in the region. In La Louvière, it was necessary to call in additional doctors to take care of the victims.
After the horror, calm seems to be slowly returning to the emergency room of the Jolimont hospital. Sébastien, a nurse, is barely recovering from his morning. “We did for the better, but emotionally, it’s not easy to live with. There are people we knew among the wounded. That’s what’s difficult, but we have to move on. With the colleagues, we did everything to make it go as well as possible.“
It is 7am this morning when the first injured are rushed to this hospital. Some suffer from severe injuries. You have to move quickly to intervene. “The first injured people who arrived here were in a pretty critical condition because they were knocked down by the vehicle and all the injuries that came with it, so a lot of broken bones, open wounds, major car-related trauma.”
Psychological help offered
To cope, the hospital emergency plan is triggered. Hospitals in the region are distributing the injured. Emergency physicians and surgeons are called in for reinforcement. “We still have three patients treated in intensive care, in the case of the seriously injuredsays Christophe Delvoie, executive director of CHR Jolimont. In terms of emergency outpatient activity, there are almost no more arrivals linked to this morning’s tragedy.“
On site, psychological help is also provided to witnesses, victims, but also to upset caregivers. “The purpose of today’s mission is to come a little warm, to see how people are doing, how they experienced the events and the signals they need to pay attention to for the future so that they are no longer impacted. . Here, we are in the adrenaline of the moment, but there is also everything afterwards, how the end of the day will be experienced“, explains François Brouillard, psychologist and psychological support to workers in Hainaut.